Que Sera, Sera
by 3Es Queen
Summary: When Bella and Jacob meet, it is impossible to deny the electricity between them. Unforunately, things aren't always that easy. Oh well, whatever will be, will be. Bella/Embry.
1. Starlight

Disclaimer: I do not own the Twilight series or its characters and neither does anyone else except for Stephenie Meyer. This is for entertainment purposes only, and will not earn a penny.

_**Que Sera, Sera's Chapter One: Starlight**_

Enjoying freshman year was a given for many if not the majority of college students. And Bella certainly did enjoy it. It was also nice to have been surrounded by people that didn't have preconceived notions about her. One of her main reasons for choosing to attend college over 1500 miles away from her home in Phoenix City.

As an added advantage, decent familiarity was only a few hours away in the form of her somewhat distant father, Charlie. He had been overwhelmingly happy to hear that Bella had chosen to go to school in Washington State. Since the past September, she had only _been_ to Forks three times, and never more than a weekend. It was not too big of a deal though. Charlie came to visit her sometimes, and he always made sure to have the weekend off to devote solely to her when she did come.

They had gotten closer over the past 8 months, and Bella was grateful for it. She remembered the awkward summers of her childhood, going to Charlie's. She had enjoyed them at the time but not really been in favor of the area. It was not exciting, and it had been very different from Phoenix. Small. Wooded. It had been the heaven of a girl that was raised to ride horses and fish, but for someone who liked the noise of cities, the silence was deafening.

Seattle was wonderful though. Her classes were going well, and she was excited about the coming year. Not that she had much free time. She was going to work through the summer and try to earn a scholarship to a culinary school in the Northeast. So, there was much need to celebrate before all hell broke loose. Finals were over, so she and her friends were taking a much needed night of partying at "Starlight", the newest club in town, to drink and dance.

Bella's first time in a club had been horrible. She had felt awkward and strange, too paranoid of the various men around her and her two friends to drink a drop the whole night. Not that she was technically allowed to drink a drop. But, they had let her in, and they certainly hadn't complained.

The second time, with two male friends along for a New Year's Eve celebration, they had really cut loose. Bella did not remember clearly what happened that night. But she had drank. And she had danced, getting into the music and relaxing. She had moved freely, not caring how she looked to others. And it apparently had been attractive to many of the men around her according to her friends.

Since then, she had been able to enjoy herself with or without liquor involved. It had become a pleasure to cut look after a stressful week of school with someone serving her and then dancing the night away with random people.

She had never taken on a normal club-goer as a "partner" in any way. Most of the ones that were there and single were more interested in feeling her up than they were in having a nice dance followed by a conversation over drinks. But she still managed to have a good time with just the dancing and going home with only her friends at her side.

It was her first time at Starlight. And the reasoning for the name had become quickly apparent. The ceiling was a dark midnight blue under the glow of lights and small strings of white lights were along the tall ceiling. When a dancer looked up, it was almost like looking up into a clear night sky. The atmosphere was energetic and friendly, and there were very few occupied seats compared to the number of people in the club. That was definitely a good thing.

Her friends laughed about something, and Angela offered to by the first round. "Apple martinis, all?" The other our nodded, Luke going with her while the rest found a table. A few drinks later, and they were all on the dance floor, bodies weaving around them. They were having a good time, and Bella was in high spirits. She closed her eyes, dancing with her arms up in the air, swaying as if hypnotized to the music. She felt a hand touch her waist and smiled. She began to dance with the man behind her, only glancing to make sure he didn't look like some crazy person before getting back into the music. After a moment though, his hands reached around and started to run up her thighs, pulling her skirt up a bit.

She turned around and snorted derisively at him before pushing him away with two palms. Luke and Julie laughed at her sides, but their faces did not catch her attention. Standing at the side of the dance floor with an amused smile on his face was the most attractive man she had ever seen. She bit her lip subconsciously, almost willing him to come toward her. It seemed to work to, because his smile widened as he stepped in her direction. Bella felt her heartbeat speed up a bit.

Gorgeous. Dark hair adorned his head. It dropped to the ends and seemed to curl slightly around his ears with a boyish sort of charm. This was no boy though. He appeared to be in his mid to late twenties, which was around the age she looked. He was much taller than Carlisle. She would say around six and a half feet. Maybe a tiny bit over. His skin was a dark golden color, and his jaw was square. Her eyes ran down his body as she lightly swayed to the music. Dark jeans with tight black t-shirt. He didn't look like a body builder, but he was no chump. She could see the well defined muscles despite the 10 feet in a dark room between them. Had God made him just for her? She looked back into his eyes and wondered if they had more seriously.

His eyes were dark, smoldering even. And they were watching her move as if he could anticipate what she would do. They didn't leave her form for a second. He looked at her as if he were an old, very familiar lover. He looked at her as if she was already his, almost predatorily but not in a rapist kind of way. She vaguely noticed a group of men that had somewhat similar looks and build around him. They were talking and not really looking at him. His eyes left hers to move to the man that had just touched his shoulder. He looked back at her for a second before nodding to his friend. The rest walked toward the bar, but he continued to advance toward her. She turned away with a blush, continuing to dance.

She slowly dipped back into the music and started to dance again. She looked up at the ceiling, smiling at the small white lights bouncing off of it. It really was like dancing under the stars. She slowly closed her eyes and twirled around, not caring how she looked to the people around her, just enjoying the dancing. Eli had once commented on her dancing. He had said she looked completely "free" in the moment. He hadn't been able to explain it further, but Bella understood in a way. She did feel _free_ when dancing. Even though she wasn't a prisoner of any sort when she wasn't. It was liberating and exhilarating and joyful.

She could feel the dark stranger coming toward her. She couldn't explain it, but it was true. She could feel him nearing her, the heat of him warming her skin to nearly uncomfortable levels, making it tingle. She felt strong hands grab her waist, pulling her back against him. His head descended to her ear, and he whispered in a deep baritone, "Mind if I dance with you?"

Bella smiled and shook her head, slightly, continuing to move with her music. She heard him inhale the smell of her. She was very happy she had showered before coming and that she hadn't been here long enough to work up too much of a sweat... She heard what she thought to be a light rumbling growl come from behind her and smiled. He moved nicely with her, but not exactly how she wanted. He was a bit too stiff. Her hands slid down her side and came to rest on top of his on her waist. Slowly, she started to move, letting him feel how she wanted him to move with her body. He picked up on his quickly.

The man gently pulled her closer to him, dancing with her in a way that rarely happened. Her head tipped back gently as they moved in rhythm to the music. The distance between their hips closed, and they danced against each other perfectly. Their bodies molding together and moving perfectly with the music. He was not insistent. And his hands stayed where they had originally been placed. His grip on her was firm yet gentle.

"You are….intoxicating." She turned around to face him and looked up into his eyes. She smiled, raising her right hand up to chest. "What is your name?" she said carefully.

"Jacob," he said with a smile. She nodded once.

"Well, Jacob, I need a drink," she said, pulling away from him slightly.

"Allow me?" Bella nodded. His hand grabbed hers, pulling her toward the bar.

After getting their drinks and finding a seat at a nearby table, he looked into her eyes. "So, you know my name. May I have the same in return?"

"Bella," she said softly. He smiled, "That is a beautiful name."

Bella smiled at him, and he leaned toward her a bit. "Do you have a boyfriend, Bella?" Bella shook her head, taking a sip of her drink. "Well… may I kiss you then?"

Bella raised an eyebrow in surprise. "You move fast, don't you, Jacob?" He had the decency to look embarrassed for a moment.

"I can't help myself. You are… something." Bella raised her eyebrows again.

"I hope that is a good thing." She paused for a moment, looking at him. What was the harm in a kiss? "Yes, you may kiss me."

Jacob smiled at her before scooting nearer to her and gently pressing his lips to hers. Bella felt her eyes close and exhaled a long breath. Her hand involuntarily raised itself to his shoulder, pulling him a little closer to her. He reacted with passion, pressing his lips more firmly against hers. Slowly, her mouth opened, their tongues gently touching each other as his arms came to wrap around her waist, pulling her even closer. She went limp in his arms.

She had not kissed many men. But she had certainly never been kissed like this. It was as if every tiny nerve in her body was tingling. Every part of her brain telling her to further it. She felt drunk on him, and she felt as if she couldn't get close enough. He pulled her into his lap, and her hands pressed against his chest as she lightly nipped his lip. His mouth moved from her lips, kissing a trail from the side of her mouth down across her neck. At the arch of it, he started to kiss again, inhaling deeply.

Bella couldn't help but tip her head back and away from him, giving him free reign. She jerked a bit when she felt a pinch on her neck, hearing his moan. But it was only matched by her own.

"JAKE!" They were jerked out of their stupor by a voice at their side. They pulled away from each other to look at the intruder, and she heard Jacob growl in annoyance. One of his friends was standing there with a very amused look on his face. His eyes looked over Bella and seemed to rest on a point between their faces before his eyes slightly widened.

"I was going to offer to get you a beer. But… I need to talk to you. Can you leave your girl here for a second?"

Jacob looked at her as if seeking permission and she smiled. "I'll be right here." He kissed her quickly on the mouth before walking away from his friend who seemed to be looking back at her and whispering quickly to a stiffening Jacob.

The dancers filled the area between her and Jacob, and he was quickly out of view. Apparently the club was pretty close to capacity. She got a glimpse of him and a nervous smile before feeling a hand on her shoulder. "Bella, we need to get out of here."

Bella looked up at Julie with a frown. "Why?" she said, pouting. She grinned. "I met this great guy. Hell of a kisser!"

Julie sighed, "Eli got a little too drunk. He passed out into a table. He's pretty out of it so we are going to take him into the hospital to make sure he doesn't have a concussion. Do you want to stay here?"

Bella shook her head, instantly concerned. "No, no, I am coming." She looked in the direction of the bar, and caught a glimpse of Jacob again. He seemed to be in a very serious discussion. She frowned. With luck, shed see him again. If he was impressed with her enough, he'd be back.

She stood up and walked out of the club with Julie, jumping into the car where Eli was in the back seat, halfway conscious. The car started to pull away, and he started complaining of his head starting to hurt badly. Bella looked out of the back window by chance and was somewhat surprised to see Jacob run into the middle of the street after the car. His hands dropped to his side as they turned the corner, and Bella didn't see him fall to his knees.

"Que Sera, Sera." She said, hopefully before starting to talk to Eli with Julie to keep him awake.

* * *

**Author's Note**: So, that idea I had that slowed me down from Prima Facie…. Is five rather generous chapters long. I know completely where it is headed, and I am loving it so far…. As a result, I decided to go ahead and post it so I could get your thoughts. I am not giving too much away in the summary because there are a lot of surprises, I'll probably change it after a few chapters. Anyway, please review so I know if you like it or not and if I need to keep posting it.

Just a reminder, it will have questionably moral things. I personally take responsibility, and will explain my point of view later if need be, but these are my opinions and thoughts. I can't help if you disagree with me. However, I do not mind respectful criticism or "flames", just allow me to respectfully respond if I feel I need to.

The next chapter for Prima Facie will most likely be half Edward/half Carlisle or all of one of them as per a request from a reviewer. I liked the idea, and it won't mess anything up, so I am tying around with it. Anyway, tell you me yours thought on this. Prima Facie should be updated within a week. Take care all!


	2. Rough Play

Disclaimer: The Twilight series and its characters belong to the author, Stephenie Meyer. This is not more monetary gain and is solely to be used to the entertainment of the readers and author.

_**Que**__** Sera, Sera's Chapter Two: Rough Play**_

_**IMPORTANT AUTHOR'S NOTE: **__There is a very important note at the bottom I ask you to re__ad before you continue this story, or at least at the end of the chapter.__ Otherwise, you might be disappointed. Review with your thoughts!

* * *

_

When they arrived at the hospital, Luke and Angela hauled off Eli to the restroom to throw up some of the copious amounts of alcohol he had stupidly eaten on an empty stomach. Bella was sitting down when a nurse came up to her. "Do you need immediate attention for that?" she said, looking not quite at Bella's face.

Julie looked at her confused, and Bella turned slightly to return the look when Julie's eyes widened.

"Geez, Bella! What the fuck happened?"

Bella's brows furrowed, "What?"

"Your neck!" Bella raised a hand to her neck and felt something wet. She pulled her hand away and saw blood on her hand. "What the hell?! How'd that happen?"

The nurse looked at her as if she were crazy, and so did Julie. She then remembered the kisses on her neck…. The pinch that hadn't felt all bad at the time. Her eyes widened, and the nurse nodded her head.

"Here, I am about to go on break, but we can get that cleaned up first and see if you need to be checked or not. It might not be too deep and manageable from home." Bella nodded and stood, following the nurse into an exam room. A few painful minutes of something that disinfected and burned like hell later, the nurse seemed to laugh.

"Boyfriend a little too rough with the kissing?" She held Bella a mirror and her eyes widened. Apparently, he had been a little rough! A kind of deep bite mark was in Bella's neck.

The nurse smiled. "Well, I don't think it needs stitches, I'll bandage it up. But you should get a shot for it. Mouths can be very dirty." Bella stupidly nodded, and the nurse was as good as her word, bandaging the mark with some gauze and tape.

A few minutes later, Bella walked back into the waiting room. Julie looked at the bandage on her neck and frowned. "So…what's the story?"

Bella blushed as Angela walked out. "We ran into the doctor coming for Eli on the way back from the bathroom. Luke went with him to be examined." Her gaze quickly found Bella's neck, and she frowned. "What happened?"

"That is what I am waiting to find out," Julie said.

Bella sat down and mumbled something under her breath. "Say that again, and clearly enough that we can hear it?"

Bella glared at her before looking to her lap. "The guy I was dancing with…. We were kissing, and…. He bit me."

"Did you knock the hell out of him?" Julie asked, shocked. While Angela's eyes widened.

Bella shook her head, blushing again. "It felt… good at the time. And I didn't know he had broke skin until the nurse asked if I was okay."

Angela looked at her in disgust. "Ew, you let some….dog just chew on your neck?"

"He was _kissing_ my neck, I thought!"

Julie laughed. "You must like some hard kissing. Anyway, better get a tetanus shot to make sure this guy doesn't give you rabies or something. Bella glared but nodded.

The emergency room wasn't busy, so a doctor didn't have much problem getting Bella a shot. It stung like crazy, and the doctor had lectured her on the dangers of "rough foreplay", but it was over pretty quickly. Eli was kept over for the night, but they assured them it was just a minor concussion. They just wanted to keep him because he lived alone, and he had to be woken up every once in a while for the next day.

The group made sure to tease Bella about her "vampire man" for the next coming weeks. And she had tried to find him again when they went back the next weekend. But it was of no use. For the next year, they frequented what had become their new favorite club in the city, but he was never there. When the bandage and scab was gone and only a rather wicked scar remained, the story died down to just the telling of when people asked how it happened.

* * *

At the end of the summer, Bella was informed that she had gotten her scholarship. Actually, it was more of a sponsorship. A Chicago restaurant called the Lazy Cajun offered to pay for Bella's schooling if she agreed to work there full time after she graduate for three years and every other night excluding Saturday and Sunday until she graduated. She knew it was going to be a lot of work, but she had taken their offer. At the end of August, she said goodbye to her friends and parents with a "pre-birthday/bon voyage bash", and the next day she flew to Chicago, greeted three days later by her things.

Her apartment was not in the best part of town, but it would do. It did have an adequate kitchen, and that was what Bella needed most, so she didn't complain. Over the four and a half years, Bella did quite well in the culinary industry. The chef even found her so promising he made her his new sous chef when the old one retired the final year.

Unfortunately for the restaurant and fortunately for Bella, she got a better offer. Just after Valentine's Day the year she was twenty four, Bella was offered the head chef position at a branch off restaurant of one in Seattle. One of her professors in Seattle had retired and opened the Seattle restaurant. As a result to his success with it, he had vacationed to Chicago where his family happened to live. They had taken him to the Lazy Cajun on a day Bella happened to be Head Chef, and he had fallen in love with her menu and style.

Two months later, in early April, he called to tell Bella that he was opening a restaurant for Cajun and French cuisine in Port Angeles. He offered Bella the job on the spot, and she had been unable to refuse.

It was perfect for her. Port Angeles was close enough to the huge city of Seattle to be reasonable to make trips there. It was not too big, but it wasn't the complete deadness that was Forks, and it was close enough to Forks for her to visit her father regularly and have him come see her.

She gave her two week's notice, and at the end of May she returned to Washington, renting a nice townhouse near the new restaurant.

* * *

It was with great excitement that Bella drove for the first time in almost five years to Forks, Washington. On the way, she mused on how excited Charlie would be. She had not told him she had returned. She had not told him she was even visiting. As far as he knew, she was still in Chicago.

It was a well kept secret to most of Forks, but Charles Swan _loved_ surprises. Bella had first suspected when she had surprised him at work with dinner on his birthday. And it was proven when she bought her father a ticket to come see her in Chicago for the holidays the past year. He had loved it despite his hounding at the opposite; the way his eyes were lit up made it undeniable.

So, now she was going to surprise him with probably one of the biggest surprises she would ever give him.

She was relieved when she pulled up to see the cruiser in the drive way. He was home. It was around eleven in the morning, so she had no doubt he was up. He was probably eating bacon and eggs. She coasted into the driveway, trying to be as quiet as possible. She didn't see him looking out the windows, and the door stayed shut. Carefully, she climbed the porch steps. And then, she knocked.

"COMING!" a voice from the inside yelled. The door opened, and she came face to face with Charlie, dishtowel in hands and wide eyes.

"Bella?!" Bella grinned at him and stepped in, hugging him tightly.

"Hey, Dad!" Charlie was somewhat stiff in shock.

"What… what are you doing here? Come in!" He finally hugged her back, pulling her through the door. She walked with him into the kitchen, and they plopped themselves at the table. Bella grabbed his hand with a warm smile.

"Well, I had to take some time off from work to move. I decided to move into a nice little townhouse in a better area. I got done a few days earlier than expected, so I figured I would come and see you."

Charlie rolled his eyes. "Well, you could have warned me. I would have asked off of work to spend some time with you. As it is, I work from three on until midnight."

Bella nodded, "That's fine. I'll be around for a while." She glanced up at the refrigerator. As expected, a piece of paper with her Chicago number and address was on it. She stood up and plucked it off, pulling a pen from her purse. "I got a new phone number, too. I might as well go ahead and write that down so you have it for when I get home."

Charlie nodded as Bella sat down. With a secretive smile, she wrote down her new Port Angeles phone number and address. She then slid it across the table to him.

"Here you go. Can't call _me_ irresponsible." Charlie smiled and glanced at the paper before looking up at her. And then back down. She watched as he seemed to jerk in surprise before looking at her.

"Bella?" he asked, seriously.

Bella grinned. "Well, I was offered a job in Port Angeles as head chef from an ex-teacher. So… I accepted. I got here a few days ago, and I am already moved in. I'm afraid you will have to deal with seeing a lot more of me."

* * *

**Author's Note: **So, I went ahead and uploaded this. Now, I have an explanation and an apology to make.

First, to a reviewer's question. "Que Sera, Sera" meant "whatever will be, will be." It was a popular Doris Day song and is very familiar to me. It means that we can't see or know the future before hand, so we have to just live in our present and let nature move as it will. I thought it an appropriate title for this story, and I think it is even more so now that…..

I have been questioning the pairing. Yes, I _am_ a die-hard Jacob lover. And I know that Bella will end up with either Jacob or Edward. And I sure am hoping for Jacob. However, during chapter five an idea came about that was supposed to just be minor. And then, it so effortlessly grew. As a result… this story might not be all Bella/Jacob. Sorry to the reviewer who I said it would be Bella/Jacob in the end… it very well might not.

However, it is a CANON character. And he _is_ appropriate. And it actually ties in an idea I had for a story way back when I was only a few chapters into Toward the Moon. Little pieces are all wrapped up in random chapters, but I couldn't get it all to work… until now.

I think that the fic will be better for this change if you will stick with it. I am not saying for sure that the major pairing won't be Bella and Edward. I will probably take into account your thoughts to a minor level, but the story won't change drastically from what I want.

Finally, I am sorry for doing this. Hopefully, you will still read. The story is still going to be likeable, and an unhealthy relationship with a vampire is no where in sight. In fact, no vampires will be present in the course of this story Please tell me that you'll keep reading.


	3. Encounter

Disclaimer: I do not own the Twilight series or its characters. This is not written for any monetary gain, just entertainment.

_**Chapter 3 of **__**Que**__** Sera, Sera : Encounter**_

"It was always the same dream", Bella pondered as she walked downstairs from her bedroom to her kitchen. She pulled a bottle of water from the refrigerator, and took several hearty swallows as she sat down on a bar stool.

She had had the same dream since about a month after the club incident. It always happened the same way. She would be lying in bed. Strong arms would slide around her stomach, pulling her back into a very warm and muscular chest. She always remembered smiling and snuggling into the warm familiarity. Then, soft lips descended on her neck. Gently kissing the soft, milky skin there. And, finally, a light bite that caused her to shiver.

And then, his voice would speak to her. "It is meant to be, Bella. Stop fighting it and find me; you are wasting your time. Through him, you'll come to me. It is meant to be." That was when she always woke up. Always, just after jerking up in bed, she imagined those dark eyes were still looking at her. Searching her soul.

The identity was not a mystery to her. She knew exactly who it was, but she didn't know why. It wasn't as if she was fighting anything. She had only met Jacob one time at a club. She hadn't seen him again, and she certainly had tried to.

She had gone numerous times to the club, and she had always looked for him. And since then… no relationship ever measured up to the feelings he gave her.

She had dated while in Chicago- pretty seriously with one guy, too. But, that night… she hadn't drank that much, but it had left such an impression on her. It was as if he had _glowed_ or something. He had made her feel with just a glance what other men could not make her feel with months of endless affection.

She had tried to forget about it. And she had tried to just come to terms with the fact that he was gone, and she needed to get over it. But it hadn't worked. Every time she went a while without thinking of him, every time she figured the feelings had just been alcohol induced… the dream came. And at very inopportune times. Waking up with your boyfriend of seven months glaring at you because he heard you saying "I want you, Jacob" was not a comfortable situation. And the explanation certainly didn't help.

_"Well, you see, it is a guy I met once at a club. And I have never had anyone kiss me like that. He was a God, I swear. The way he looked at me. That scar on my neck I told you was a bite from a dog? Yea, that was him. It was _so_ erotic… what? No, I'm not into S and M. No, I don't like to be bit. I just… I did that time. __Because he knew how to do it.__ You don't."_

Not that she had ever explained it in those words. But she was sure that was how it came across. And it was, frankly, the truth. No one had known how to kiss her or touch her like that since. And she couldn't get away from it. She sighed, opening her fridge. Maybe distracting herself with cooking some omelets would distract her.

Cooking had always felt like some sort of art form. When she had lived in Phoenix, her mother had occasionally tried to cook. It wasn't traditional food though. Her mother liked to try new things. A "fad cooker", she called them. For a whole week she had had to live on only fondue. And her mother had decided to go vegetarian for a period. Then, no carbs for a month. It was enough to drive a growing girl insane.

So, Bella had learned to cook. Otherwise, she probably would have spent most of her high school time home sick with food poisoning or starving. It had been in the kitchen she had been able to relax. Something about the crisp noise that sounded when cutting vegetables or apples…. The smell of rosemary, basil, and other herbs… The warmth radiating off of the stove and slightly warming her face. It had become somewhat of a retreat, and she had found she was good at it.

Looking back on it, it seemed funny to her how that worked. People viewed so many things as chores, but knowing that you had _talent_ at doing something that others weren't as good at… especially if it was something almost everyone had to do… there was something very special about that. It was the one thing that Bella knew she was good at and would please people with. And knowing that she could bring joy to herself and others by doing what others didn't want to and having them enjoy her efforts… it was easy for her to understand why cooking was an escape.

It even took away the dark eyes.

* * *

Bella took a deep breath as she buttoned up the white chef's uniform. It was an important night for her. The opening had gone extremely well. And, now, it was the real test. 

Her father was going to be bringing by his friend, Billy Black and some of his family. He had been excited to show off his daughter the "famous chef" to them and had made the plans the moment she left. He had called her this morning to tell her the plan.

So, Bella was sort of nervous. She didn't want to disappoint her father by not having everything going. She looked over the staff in the kitchen. "Okay, guys. Tonight, my father is coming and bringing his friends. I want you to treat this as a VIP. They are from the area, and they could be a good source of income if they like what they get. Plus, I don't want my father to feel stupid for saying that we would blow them away. Everything is to run tip-top tonight, okay?" Murmurs of assent greeted her, and she smiled.

She looked at her second in command, her old friend Luke. "Let's do this?" She nodded to the hostess to go flip the lights on and within 15 minutes, several tables had already been filled.

The night passed normally until eight o' clock. That was when the hostess came in and straight up to Bella. "I just seated your father. A group of nine. Who do you want to serve them?" Bella frowned, glancing at Luke.

He shrugged, "I would say Daniel or Jeff." Bella nodded.

"Go with Jeff. But I want you to tell them to make sure to help him out if he needs it with drinks and carrying out the order." The hostess walked out, and Bella cleared her throat before speaking loudly.

"Get any high pressure things going. My group just arrived." The kitchen became a little louder as the tempo picked up, and Bella sighed. Jeff came in and smiled at her. "Any specials or recommendations for your group? I just got their drink orders."

Bella nodded. "Crawfish Etouffee and Shrimp Bisque. Dessert is going to still be the Crème Brulee tonight." Jeff nodded and went to start getting the drinks together.

A few minutes later, the orders came in, and work kicked into overdrive. Apparently, when she said to treat them like VIPs the staff had decided to take it to heart especially. Not that Bella was complaining. She wanted it to be perfect.

When the final order went out, Bella breathed a sigh of relief. "Wonderful, guys. Thank you! It should cool off a bit right now. If there is anything pressing, do that. But get a drink of water or something."

She grabbed a glass of soda and gulped it down. Jeff walked in. "They seem pleased. Just got six orders for the crème brulee, and your father wants you to come out if you can."

"How busy is it?"

Jeff smiled, "Calming down for sure. I think Luke can manage the rest okay." Bella nodded. She put in the order for the desserts before looking in the reflection of a hanging pot and fixing her hair a bit.

"Gina, put them against the window on the far right, table 30?" Bella smiled at him and nodded. "Thank you, Jeff. Keep the drinks coming?" Jeff smiled and nodded.

"Go get em', Queen Bee." Bella nodded and took a deep breath before pushing the door open. She walked through the restaurant, watching as a few people stopped to look at her. She took the two steps up and walked toward table 30. She saw her father at the far end of the table facing her, and he smiled widely waving.

"Bella!" she heard her father call. The group turned, and Bella looked over the faces. When she saw the one at the opposite end of the table from her father though, she almost choked. Her eyes widened, and she stumbled a bit before walking forward. Looking right at her with a look of shock and something else were the dark eyes that haunted her bedroom at night. "Jacob…" she whispered.

* * *

_**Author's Note: **_So, here is the latest installment. This story seems to be pacing a bit slower. I have ten chapters written, and I am eager to start on the next one. That will have to wait until after the gym though. 

I got a review saying that I actually have a pastry chef in school in Chicago reading the story. Talk about nerve-wrecking! I, obviously, am not a chef. Though I am considering going to culinary school when I move back to the states. I have been cooking Cajun and southern food all of my life, and I think it would be marketable (particularly the Cajun). Anyway, forgive me for any things that might not be true. I am doing rudimentary research, but I have no idea how it is to work in the kitchen of a fancy restaurant. I hope I don't disappoint.

Also, this story is NOT going to be Edward and Bella. I'm sorry for the confusion. Edward will not even be in the story. Or any vampires, for that matter. They have already moved on to greener pastures (atleast 6 months of the year) in Alaska. This story will rotate around Bella and another character from the stories. I've not seen it before, but I thought it could be interesting. Jacob will not be a villain, though. He will just be in a difficult position. I hope this clears everything up, and that the pairing does not stop your reading. Take care and please review!

Btw… for those of you who asked- Que Sera, Sera means "Whatever will be, will be."


	4. What is Done, is Done?

Disclaimer: The Twilight Series and its characters are property of Stephenie Meyer. This is written purely to explore different avenues and not to pay bills.

**_Chapter 4 of Que Sera, Sera: What is Done, is Done?_**

His eyes had seemed to widen even more when he saw her lips move to say his name. But, after just a moment, it was gone.

Bella wiped her face of recognition and walked to the other end of the table, hugging her father. "How is everything?" she asked. She watches as Jeff came out with some more tea for the people running low, and smiled as he moved a chair next to her father for her to sit down at. She nodded at him in approval. He simply smiled back before surveying the table and walking off.

"It is _wonderful_," a woman sitting a few seats down on the opposite side said. I definitely don't eat as much as these guys, but I have finished by meal and now am waiting for dessert."

Bella smiled. "It should be out in a little bit. I am glad you like everything. Everyone else…. Was your food okay? Service?"

A man in a wheelchair that Bella vaguely remembered nodded. "It is perfect. Great service, even better food." He smiled at her before looking around at the other faces. "How about some introductions?"

Bella smiled and nodded, "That would be great."

Charlie nodded to her. "Okay. Everyone, this is obviously my daughter, Bella. Bella….this is my best friend, Billy Black," he said, gesturing to the man in the wheelchair to his right. He then nodded his head to the end of the table. "All of these guys are friends from the reservation… Going around from Billy is Quil, Embry, Jacob, Jenny, Emily, Sam, and Jared to your left."

The girl he had introduced as Sam's wife smiled at her. "And, so you can link us up better… Jared is Sam's best friend, and I am his wife. Quil and Embry are Jacob's best friend and Jenny is his."

Bella look at her in confusion. "His what?"

Emily and Jenny laughed. "His wife, Jenny is Jacob's wife." She watched as Jacob seemed to blush before taking a sip of his drink, and Bella nodded, dumbfounded.

No wonder she hadn't been able to find him again. He had probably felt guilty. She hadn't been his girlfriend; that was for sure. What an ass! He had probably went home that night and had decided not to go back and risk getting caught being an adulterer. Bella felt her neck flush with anger and looked at her father. "Well, I am happy you guys are enjoying everything." She watched as Jeff came up the steps with the new server whose name she couldn't remember with the dishes of crème brulee. "It was great meeting you all, but I still have a lot of work to do before we are done tonight. I am sure I will be seeing you all again, though. If you need anything, don't hesitate to ask."

The group said their goodbyes, and she stood up, walking away from the table. A look of anger and revulsion crossed over her face, knowing he would be the only one to see. She could feel Jacob's eyes on her until she was out of view if he didn't turn his head. Behind her, she could hear her father proudly raving as the group took the first bites of their dessert.

Within thirty minutes, Bella's father and his friends had left. The rest of the night was much calmer, and she could definitely feel the relief when she walked into the kitchen. When they finished cleaning up for the night, she stopped them before going home.

"You guys, I just want to say thanks for tonight. You all did perfectly, and I am happy you are capable of handling the stress as groups, even when they are designated as VIPs. Next Thursday, at nine if you are available, come in for breakfast. I will cook it myself before we get to work at ten-thirty, and I will pay for the time you are here early if you want to come by. Your choice; it is completely optional and just my way of saying thanks. Have a great night everyone; I'll see you tomorrow at three."

Bella was very pleased when she walked out of the restaurant that she had driven rather than walked. It was pouring outside, and the wind was horrible. She drove home and finally felt the relief that only seemed to hit her when her work for the day was done.

She climbed up the stairs to her bathroom and didn't hesitate to start the tub filling up for a nice bath. She added some lavender oil to help her relax and ran downstairs, pouring a glass of wine.

She carried it back upstairs, not allowing herself to think about anything. With several flicks of a lighter, a half-dozen candles lit the bathroom. Glass of wine in hand, Bella slid into the warm water.

The nerve of some people. She just didn't understand how people could cheat on their spouses. The idea was inconceivable. They had made a vow to pledge themselves to one person, and then they threw away their love and promise for some random person at the club.

She felt as if she should be angry for Jenny in a way. Which was somewhat ridiculous to her because she was the "random person at the club," but Jenny didn't know. It was a shame, too, because the woman had seemed very nice, smiling warmly at her. In a way, she wanted to tell the woman how much of a cheating asshole she had married because Bella had no doubt that he would have went home with her that night had she asked. And she almost had.

She had been hours away from becoming a mistress. The thought disgusted her. With the final sip of her wine, she decided to push the thoughts of Jacob from her head. Asshole. And how old was he now, anyway? He didn't seem to have aged much in the five years since she had seen him. And she had expected him to be twenty-five or so then. Was she the first one had had tried to cheat with? Did that make any difference?

She groaned, closing her eyes and imagining classical music in her head. She needed to stop thinking about this. It was over, and she would just try to steer clear of him.

* * *

She must have fallen asleep at some point. She woke up suddenly in the tub, swearing she had heard her doorbell. She heard the rain hitting the window and assumed that was it. She climbed out of the tub and was toweling off when she heard it again. She _had_ heard the doorbell.

But who would be coming here at two in the morning? What if it was an emergency? She quickly threw on a robe, tying it at the waist as she ran down the stairs. She peered out the peep hole, but it was useless. It was too dark to see the person.

"Who is it?" she asked, nervously.

"It's me……uh, Jacob Black." A deep voice said over the wind.

Bella snorted and turned to walk up the stairs, not even touching the door handle. Her first step up, a wave of anger came over her. Turning around, she walked back to the door and threw it open. "What the fuck do you want?"

Her eyes looked him over in anger. He was soaking wet, the rain making his hair curl up a bit more around his ears. He was wearing the same thing he had been wearing at dinner that night. She met his eyes, lips pursed. They held extreme sorrow. Looking deeper in his eyes, her frown became very pronounced. His eyes… they were similar, but they didn't look quite right. They still made her feel funny, but…. She was pretty sure they weren't the ones from her dreams. Her brows furrowed.

"May I….. come inside?" he asked quietly, not moving.

She was about to say no and shut the door when lightning struck somewhere close by. She grumbled as she opened the door wide. He didn't hesitate to step in, politely wiping his shoes off on the rug just inside the door.

She flipped on the light and took a few steps back, leaning against the banister of the stairway. "What do you want?" she asked again.

He sighed, "I think you got the wrong impression tonight."

Bella snorted. "Oh, so I was supposed to pick up something different from 'she is Jacob's wife'? That seems unlikely." He shook his head, quickly.

"No, no…. she is my wife." Bella rolled her eyes, taking a step to the door.

"Well now that that is all cleared up."

"No…. you see, she wasn't my wife when we met those years ago."

Bella stopped moving, looking at him. "Was I going to be the last fling before tying the knot?" she asked seriously.

"No, I didn't even know Jenny, then. I saw you, and I liked you…. And I felt that I should explain because I don't want you to think I am some sort of cheating ass."

"Well, no fear anymore… you have defended your honor. Although, there really wasn't much of a point. It's not like it changes anything." He nodded sadly, looking down.

"Yes, I know. I… I just felt like I should explain to you."

Bella rolled her eyes. "Why? You don't owe anything to me. I am just a girl you met at a club one night… we danced, we kissed, and we went our separate ways. I am nothing special."

His growl shocked her. "Yes, you are!" He stiffened as if defending her, and she actually stiffened at the movement, a bit afraid of him in that moment. "I… I'm sorry. It's just…."

Bella looked at the floor, feeling the first tears escape. "I think you should leave, Jacob," she whispered. She looked up, seeing what seemed like pain in his eyes as he nodded.

* * *

**Author's Note:** So! The latest installment: make sure to review with what you think. Things are picking up here with me planning a trip to Spain, and then my husband coming home. I will get one or two more chapters up before I leave on the 5th for my trip. It isn't for way too long though… a week. After all of this snow, I am looking forward to a little beach.

Anyway, this story is coming to me easily, and the pace is steady and laid back like yours, truly. **Once again, this story is not Bella/Jacob OR Bella/Edward.** I think you will like what I have done with it, though. Prima Facie will be updated in a few days. I started on it this afternoon. **Take care and please leave a review.**


	5. Subtle

Disclaimer: The Twilight series and its characters belong to Stephenie Meyer. This is written for entertainment purposes only and won't earn a penny.

**_Que Sera, Sera's Chapter Five: Subtle_**

Bella walked to the door, opening it slowly. The rain hadn't let up, and she pitied him having to go out in it. She looked at her coat rack to the left of the door. Two umbrellas. "Do you need an umbrella? You can leave it at Charlie's if you want."

He shook his head, stepping out of the door. Bella watched as the rain started to drop down on him again. "I… I don't know if a thanks applies because it doesn't really change anything. But… still, in a way, thanks for telling me."

Jacob nodded. He turned around walked down her steps. Bella didn't close the door, simply watched him. He turned around at the foot of them, a question in his eyes. She nodded.

"Why… why did you leave that night? Why didn't you at least say goodbye?" Bella looked down, closing her eyes.

"My friend fell pretty hard knocking his head into a table. We took him to the emergency room. I… didn't think. And then I figured you would come back if you wanted to see me again." She looked up at him, pained. "You didn't. I… I went back practically every weekend until I moved to Chicago."

Bella couldn't be sure with the rain, but she felt as if he was crying. His shoulders were shaking slightly as he looked at her, but he hadn't seemed cold. "I was there until it closed that morning. And… and all of that weekend. And… I went back the night before I asked Jenny to marry me three years later. And the night before our wedding."

Bella nodded and looked down. How different things could have been if only she hadn't had to leave…. If only she had seen him again…. She could somehow imagine a big white house with a porch wrapping around it. Two dark haired children on a swing set. A dark haired man pushing them as Bella snapped a few pictures, smiling. "I wish things had been different," she whispered, not looking up.

He seemed to have heard her though, and she hadn't even seen or heard him move toward her. The next thing she knew, strong arms where wrapped around her waist, pulling her crashing against him. His soft lips met hers, and all rational thought left her.

She kissed him back fiercely, her hands coming up to tangle into his wet hair. He propelled her backward into the house and used his left hand for a moment to throw the door shut. She felt her back hit the closet door next to the staircase as his lips moved unceasingly against hers. She could feel the front of her robe becoming soaked against his wet clothing, but she couldn't bring herself to care.

Their lips broke apart for a minute as her hands flew to the bottom of his sweater, pulling it up and over his head. They didn't hesitate to start kissing again, and Bella felt his hands move to the tie of her robe, undoing it and brushing it off of her shoulders with his hands. It pooled at the floor around her feet, and he took half a step back, looking over her body.

His eyes seemed to grow bright with desire, and he pushed himself up against her again. His hands came to the back of her thighs, lifting her up, securing her legs around his waist. Perfect.

He started to walk with her toward the step. They had gotten about three steps up when the world came crashing down around them. Bella's eyes snapped open, and she looked at him in shock. "What are we doing?" she asked. She looked into his eyes which had been so clear in her memory but… they weren't quite right now. She became surer and pulled away from him a bit, her palms pressed to his chest.

He looked at her in confusion for a minute. And then, slowly, the same realization came to him. He set her down on the stair above him.

"I… I don't know."

"We can't be cheaters, Jacob."

"I promise, I'll never cheat on you again," he said sincerely. Bella's eyes widened in shock.

"Jacob, think! Did you drink before you came here?" God, she hoped he hadn't. If this was alcohol induced, she would feel like a major bitch. Actually, she felt like a bitch either way. A glass of wine definitely didn't cause her to go this out of character. He shook his head, and she sighed half in sadness and half in relief.

"Jacob, you are married to another woman. You are cheating on her by being here." She watched his eyes roam down her body, and she was very aware of her state of undress. She walked around him down the stairs and picked up her discarded robe, holding it up over herself. She then grabbed his sweater, throwing it to him. With quick reflexes, he easily caught it.

"Jacob, you have to go. If you marriage doesn't work is one thing, but I can't do something to jeopardize it like this. No one should try to break up a marriage, and I am not going to be that woman."

Jacob looked at her for a moment before nodding. "I know. I… I'm sorry. You just, I thought you had disappeared. And seeing you there tonight, well, I realized that I missed out on an opportunity."

Bella looked at her feet. "Jenny is a good woman, I think."

Jacob frowned, guilt flashing in his eyes. "Yes. Yes, she is. And I could not ask for a better wife on paper. But…" His sorrowful eyes went down to the floor, "She's not exactly what I want. She's not anything like you," he whispered.

Bella had to stop herself by stepping toward him again. "Our chance passed. 'Que sera, sera', Jacob. We had our chance, and it wasn't meant to be."

He looked up at her. "You… you are wrong about that."

Bella sighed, not wanting to get into an argument or dig herself deeper in the hole she was in. She didn't want to be some man's mistress. And… something was different. "Well, even if it was meant to be, we lost our chance. Now, we are meant to stay away from each other and honor our commitments."

Jacob nodded sadly. He walked down the stairs and grabbed her hand, holding it gently. He squeezed it before stepping toward the door. "I am sorry I didn't wait long enough for you, Bella," he whispered. And then, he was gone.

* * *

The next day, Bella's father called. "Hey, did Jacob get a hold of you last night?" Bella's eyes widened.

"Uhm….yes. How did you know?"

"Well, I had to give him your phone number, so he could tell you about it. An invitation will come in the mail, though, I think." Bell had no clue what he was talking about, but she thought it would be best not to ask.

"Okay," she answered, walking to her refrigerator. She pulled out a pint of ice cream and plopped down on her couch.

"So, do you have any big plans coming up?" he asked her.

Bella sighed, "No, not really. I'm just trying to get everything going with the restaurant. Managing and being head chef is more work than I am used to. I am going to start having Luke take some more night shifts, I think."

"That sounds like a good idea. You do need a social life, too, after all. You wouldn't want to end up alone twenty years down the road like me, would you?"

Bella snorted, "I'll be fine, Dad. I'm going to start dating and everything; things have just been hectic since the move."

"Well, you've only been here a few weeks. Things will start to cool off soon, won't they?"

Bella put a spoonful of ice cream in her mouth and replied with a garbled, "Mmhmm."

"Anyway, I have a shift in a bit. I called to ask a question though. I was wondering if you would be opposed to maybe a… set up? I have a great guy in mind."

Bella rolled her eyes, "Who?"

"Well, you know Jacob."

"Dad! He's married!" she answered, not giving him a chance to finish. Charlie just laughed.

"Actually, I was talking about his friend, Embry? He's a bit leaner and shorter than Jacob? Was sitting next to him at dinner."

Bella blushed, "I wasn't really paying close attention, though, Dad. I was kind of in a rush."

Charlie frowned. "Well, he's a good boy. Tell you what… what night do you have free this week?"

Bella looked at the calendar on the wall, wondering if she was making a mistake by even considering this.

"Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday, but I work lunch on Monday and Thursday."

"Hmm…. Well how about this. He has a cabin out on first beach that he told me had great fishing in a lake near there. Told me I could come and us it whenever I wanted... How about I tell him you and I want a few days at the beach? I am sure we could get him to swing by when he was free that way."

Bella sighed, tapping her finger against the side of the ice cream carton. "Okay… when?"

"Well, you haven't had much time to be around me. How about you come up on Monday night, stay for Tuesday and, maybe, Wednesday?

It was a great time of the year for the beach, there was no denying that. She took a moment, and then said okay.

Charlie quickly hung up, saying that he was going to be late but would get it taken care of. Once Bella put the phone on the hook, she flopped down in one of her kitchen chairs.

Was this a mistake? She knew she had enough control not to do anything with Jacob, but would this make it harder?

She didn't think about it for too long though. No one had shown exceptional interest in her at dinner, other than Jacob, that she knew of. This Embry guy would probably just shrug her off, uninterested. And, she really could use the days away to unwind and de-stress.

That night, Bella dreamed once again of the familiar dark eyes that had haunted her dreams for so many years. Now, she could recognize the differences. It was similar to Jacob…. but they were not Jacob's eyes. She woke up gasping, a name on her lips she couldn't remember, and the pair of eyes more vivid than ever before.

* * *

**_Authors' Note:_** Okay, I will get one more chapter up toward the end of the week for this story before I leave for Spain. Please review, it makes writing so much more enjoyable for me to hear your thoughts. Thanks for all of your wonderful reviews from the last chapter. They really made me smile. Even you frustrated people upset about it not being Bella and Jacob. It is NOT going to be an OC (original character) though.

I will update Prima Facie shortly. Monday night? Tuesday? Anyway, it will be up soon. I hope you are enjoying the story.


	6. Personal Passions

Disclaimer: The Twilight series and its characters belong to Stephenie Meyer. This is written for entertainment only.

_**Que Sera, Sera's Chapter Six: Personal Passions**_

When Bella returned home from the restaurant, a message was waiting on her machine. The flashing light signaled her from the doorway, and she walked over, pressing the button. She already had a feeling she knew mostly what it was going to say.

"Hey, Bella! Embry says that he doesn't mind us having the cabin, but I told him how I dislike the salt water… so he offered to be there so you'd have someone to spend time on the actual beach with rather than be all by yourself while I fish. Anyway, get here as soon as you can on Monday, and we will head down. I told him to expect us to be there through Wednesday, and he said that was perfect. I'll talk to you later! Love you. Bye."

The too-enthusiastic voice of her father cut off and Bella sighed. Charlie had never been one for the beach too much, but he didn't hate it. She knew that it was just a ploy to have them get together, and he knew she knew.

The weekend and Monday seemed to pass in a whirl. The restaurant was busier than ever after getting a review from a critic they had never even noticed come in. He had published it in a major Seattle newspaper, saying that the restaurant was "perfectly unique" with "rich flavors that leave anyone wanting more." Bella had definitely been pleased, and so had the area. On Sunday night it was a hustle from five in the afternoon on to midnight when they extended closing time due to the amount of people that came.

Bella was already talking to the owner about making weekends "by reservations only" nights. Monday for lunch was mostly just people on lunch breaks. It was fast paced, but much better than the night before. And that was a good thing, too… Bella didn't think she could handle another one of those nights on four hours of sleep. It was hard enough as it is.

She was yawning all the way on her drive to Forks. When she arrived, her father seemed very excited. "Hey! Wasn't planning on hanging around here long. Are you ready to go?"

Bella groaned. "If you are driving, I guess. I just know that the next thing I'm going to do tonight is take a nap."

Charlie frowned. "Well, that's a shame. Embry was going to come by tonight and watch the game."

Bella snorted, "I don't mind sleeping through that, Dad. It was just really busy last night, and I went to work on only a few hours sleep. I just need a little rest, and I'll get up around seven?"

Charlie brightened up. "Might I talk you into cooking for us?"

Bella shrugged, "Sure. I'd have to have you pick up some stuff tonight."

Charlie nodded. "We can go before the game; it's at five. Embry and I will decide what we want and go while you are napping."

* * *

Bella barely remembered waking up to go inside. She had fallen asleep during the car ride. Vaguely, she recalled that Embry had been there when they had arrived. When she woke up, she was lying in a very comfortable bed. She looked at the alarm clock on the nightstand. 6:45. Well, a few hours was better than nothing, and she'd still be tired enough to go to sleep later on that night.

She stood up, surveying the room. It was very woodsy. The floors and walls were all hard wood, and it was decorated in woodsy greens. She wouldn't have normally liked something so rustic, but it somehow worked. The bed was beautiful too. It seemed to have been handmade, and she wondered where Embry had gotten it. She might be interested in buying from whoever it was.

It was made out of the same kind of wood as the walls. It was a queen sized sleigh bed, and the head and footboards were both hand carved to look as if the wood was twisting, ending at the sides in a swirl. Very well done. A thick down comforter was across the foot of the bed, folded so that it could be pulled up as needed. A doorframe that matched the swirls on the bed was set with some glass panes, leading out onto a balcony that looked over the pacific. Bella smiled. She walked out onto the balcony, sitting down in one of the chairs there.

She was drifting off to her thoughts when a deep, inquiring voice spoke behind her. "Bella?" She turned her head, surveying the man in the door. She hadn't really looked at him before. She found herself speculating what they _fed_ the guys at the reservation. They were all huge.

Embry wasn't quite as tall as Jacob, she didn't think. But he was leaner. He looked like a runner. His hair was the same shade as Jacobs. She couldn't see well in the dark, but she imagined his eyes were the same dark brown. In fact, she wondered if they were related. He looked as if he could be Jacob's brother, almost. He seemed a little bit more reserved than Jacob. She knew she was staring, and she could tell it was making him slightly uncomfortable. He was rocking gently on his feet. It was endearing. She smiled. "I'm sorry. I was thinking."

Embry nodded, looking up at her. "Your Dad said you wanted to be woken up around seven. He's yelling at the TV, so he wanted me to do it. But, you don't have to cook if you don't feel up to it. I know you probably do more cooking than you like."

Bella shook her head, "No." She then paused. "Well, sometimes, yes. But I don't mind cooking tonight. Thanks for having us."

Embry nodded. "You sat in the weak chair. I have been meaning to fix it. The wood underneath was a little fragile. I salvaged it from a tree that got struck down. I don't think your weight will do anything to it, but you might want to sit in the other one."

Bella's eyes widened slightly. "You made it yourself?"

Embry smiled shyly but nodded. "Yes, a few months ago. It's mostly just scrap from the door frame that I didn't want to waste. "

"You made the doorframe, too?" she asked, impressed. She looked at the doorway, framing his body. "It's really beautiful. I was going to ask you who made the bed to see if I could contract them to do something for me. I guess you did that, too?"

He nodded again, blushing deeply this time. She smiled, "Well, you are very, very talented. I really might be interested in you building something for me if you are up to it. I would pay, of course."

Embry's lips pursed for a second. "I'm working on a few projects right now for the reservation. But I might be able to do something in a month or so." Bella smiled and nodded. "Great. Well, I better get started on dinner. I am sure you guys are hungry. What am I making?"

Embry walked over, grabbing her hands and pulling her up. He then allowed her to go through the door before him. "Your dad says you make good apple pie, and he wanted that for desert. We were thinking just some steaks and salad otherwise."

Bella nodded. "That's easy enough. I thought you would give me something challenging."

"Working with my oven will be challenging enough, I think. It is ancient. You can blame any error on it," he said with a light smile. Bella laughed softly, and his smile seemed to brighten a bit more.

As Bella walked across the bedroom, she allowed her hand to run across the carefully carved floorboard of the bed. As she stepped into the light of the hallway, she saw Embry's cheek were tinted a light pink, but he did not lift his eyes to acknowledge her gaze.

They walked down the stairs together, and were greeted by Charlie's voice. "How are you feeling, sleepy head?"

Bella smiled and rolled her eyes. "A lot better. I think I will still sleep soundly tonight."

Charlie nodded. "Good. Well, I am hungry. Do you need any help in the kitchen?" Bella knew her father meant the offer of help, but she couldn't bring herself to accept it. She could see the game was still going, and he was momentarily glancing at it.

"No, you go ahead and watch the game."

Charlie smiled at her. "If you are sure," he said slowly.

Bella nodded. "I am. You guys enjoy it, and the women-folk will take care of the cooking." The men nodded while Embry kept throwing looks her way. Bella found the kitchen extremely easy to navigate. It seemed to be exactly how she would have set it up if it were hers. Bella had first put the steaks in the fridge to marinate while she got started on some other things.

She decided to get started on the pie since that would take the longest. She set the oven and then made a simple crust, setting it in the pie dish. Then she layered in the apples, coating each with a cinnamon, sugar, and nutmeg mixture. While she was pouring the butter over the mixture, someone cleared his voice behind her. She turned around to see Embry standing in the doorway. "I was wondering if you wanted me to grill the steaks for you while you do everything else."

"Don't you want to watch the game?" she asked, looking in at Charlie's displeased face as he eyed the screen.

"I already know what is going to happen. Besides, I don't mind helping out."

"I don't want to take away your fun."

He shook his head. "I don't mind grilling the steaks if you need to get other things going." Bella smiled at him.

"If you want to, that sounds good. I will admit I don't grill steaks very much, and it is always best when someone is working with their own grill."

She smiled and gestured to the fridge. He took them out and looked at her as she finished pouring on the butter. "How do you like yours cooked?"

"Medium rare," she replied, grinning at him. He nodded and walked out the back door onto the porch.

Bella quickly finished with the stitched top crust before putting it into the oven and getting started on everything else. She prepared a salad before deciding that they needed something else warm. She smiled as she reached into the fridge and pulled out three large potatoes.

She decided to make "Hoover potatoes" named that because they were cheap to make during the depression. Boiled potatoes in a creamy, butter sauce. She added her own touch of a small amount of basil to the sauce.

Bella set the potatoes to boil while she prepared the cream sauce. She was just pouring the sauce over the drained potatoes when she felt someone watching her. She turned around, spotting Embry watching her cook from a seat at the table. The steaks were on the table in front of him. He didn't glance up at her face.

She looked at the mixture, wondering what he was looking at. "Is something wrong?"

Embry looked up at her for a second. "No, not at all."

She smiled at him inquiringly as he backed up a few steps. "What is it?"

He paused before answering. "At the restaurant…. I ate what was suggested by the waiter…. The ettouffee? It was wonderful. And when you came out, you seemed to be proud. Not overtly so, but the way I feel when I have just finished building something and look at what I have made as a finished product."

He took a deep breath before continuing. "When I work, I feel completely absorbed in it. Like it is a passion that commands my attention above everything else. Something I can do naturally and without way too much extra concentration. It relaxes me, and I love it. Since that night, I wondered if you felt the same way while you were cooking. So, I came to see. Also, to see what I look like to people watching me. And… its somewhat…." He looked at her for a moment as a faint blush tinged his tan cheeks. "It's attractive to see that passion at work, knowing that other people can enjoy doing something so much as I enjoy carpentry."

Bella looked at him speculatively, and he finally looked up into her eyes, locking on them for the first time in the light when she could see them clearly. Her hands paused. His eyes were… familiar. They almost seemed to sparkle at her before they both blushed, and Bella hurriedly looked down. She felt her heart quicken as he came up to the counter, grabbing the salad bowl and taking it to the table before grabbing the dishes to set it.

"Charlie, dinner time." She said. Her father looked up before glancing at the television. With a disgruntled look, he stood up and walked in. "Smells good."

Bella smiled, "You can thank Embry for the steaks. He did the grilling; I am just the lowly help."

Embry pulled out her chair for her, and she sat down. Her father sat to one side of her while Embry took a seat in the chair across from him.

Dinner passed in a relaxed fashion, the three sharing easy conversation about work and life in general. All enjoyed the meal, and Bella had to commend Embry on the steaks. Hers had been grilled exactly how she would have wanted it, and very few seemed to be able to do that on the first try.

After the meal, Charlie announced that he was tired and wanted to get up for some early fishing. He asked if Bella and Embry wanted to come along, but Bella declined, wanting to relax on the beach the next day. Embry said that he had to go to the reservation in the late morning for a meeting, but would be back in the afternoon sometime.

Bella and Embry sat up, watching an old black and white movie called The Americanization of Emily on television. Both seemed to enjoy it, but not much was said between them. They both stayed up as the news began, but Bella must have fallen asleep during it. She woke up momentarily as Embry carried her to her room and laid her on her bed, but didn't speak, simply leaned against his chest with a soft smile. She fell asleep, dreaming of the dark eyes that weren't quite Jacob's but seemed more familiar to her than ever now...

* * *

**Author's Note:** Hoover potatoes are, of course, real. It is my favorite thing to do with potatoes because it is delicious and simple. The Americanization of Emily is a James Garner/Julie Andrews movie set during WW2. It is fabulous and should definitely be watched by all of you; it is one of my favorite and, in my opinion, is one of the first truly "ironically humorous" movies.

Anyway, I am leaving for Spain in….uh….5 hours. And I still haven't been to bed. Say thanks for the dedication in a _review_ because I am going to be tired as hell tomorrow.

CoughREVIEWCough.


	7. A Wolfs Eye View

Disclaimer: The Twilight series and its characters belong to the author, Stephenie Meyer. This is merely fiction paying homage to her for your entertainment.

_**Que Sera, Sera's Chapter Seven: A Wolf's Eye View**_

Bella woke up that night with a whisper of a name she couldn't recall on her lips. She rolled onto her side, looking through the glass balcony doors into the night. She cool see the dark sky and smiled at the glow cast by the moon. She closed her eyes, trying to fall back to sleep.

Unfortunately, thirty minutes later, sleep had not come. With a glance at the alarm clock, she saw it was a quarter of four. Well, she thought, she was at the beach and she might as well enjoy it. She sat up in bed and stretched her arms above her head. A stroll on the beach would be nice.

She stood up and realized she was still in her clothing from the day. Her long pants would not be good for walking around in the water. Especially with heels. She walked to her bag and pulled out a pair of shorts and flip flops. She changed from her blouse into a t-shirt before taking her hair out of its tight knot, letting the wave of hair descend over her back.

Quietly, she walked down the stairs so as not to wake Charlie and Embry. She opened the back door and walked out and onto the beach, looking over the sand. Turning around, she looked back at the house. She could see two balconies, though one was significantly smaller than the other. Funny, it had seemed much bigger from her room.

The cabin was impressive, if it could be called that. She normally associated "cabins" with old-timey living conditions, log walls that were a fire hazard as well as horrible at keeping out of the cold. This wasn't quite that though.

While it was made out of wood, it was very nice. It was homey, and Bella felt it was comfortable enough to live in all of the time. She assumed this was just a vacation place for Embry and wondered why. Either way, his carpentry must pay a good amount of money if he was able to furnish two places. And assuming this was the cheaper of the two, in all likelihood, he was most likely very well off. She wondered what all he built.

Slowly, she started her walk down the edge of the shore. It was dark here, with only the light of the moon to allow her to see anything. The thick forest separated the beach from any other roads and sat only around forty feet from the shoreline.

Normally, Bella was sure she would be quite nervous out here by herself. She had walked quite a distance, and she could not see where the forest cleared out for the cabin anymore. At least she couldn't really get lost walking on a beach. All she had to do was follow the shore in the opposite direction, and that was reassuring. But the forest would normally have made Bella quite nervous.

It was dark and foreboding, and Bella had a feeling there were things in it that weren't birds and squirrels. There was nowhere really to run if something did emerge from them.

However, the thought of something attacking her and the idea of planning an escape route never struck Bella. She felt safe here, almost as if she were as familiar with it as her own home. In a show of trust, or ignorance, of the unknown, Bella sat down, leaning on her hands braced behind her. She peered over the water. Every few moments, a wave would cause the water to go over her feet, and she would feel her feet sink a bit in the sand with the drawback.

It became a somewhat elementary game to try to wiggle her toes just enough that they would not be buried by the next influx of water and moving sand. As she relaxed on the beach, she allowed thoughts to run through her head.

Embry, so far, seemed fantastic. She couldn't help but wonder why he wasn't married or with anyone. Was he close with his family? Was Jacob related to him some how? The resemblance was uncanny, but she didn't remember seeing him at the club that night. And she had a feeling she would have noticed him.

His demeanor was pleasant. He seemed shy and humble, but he also seemed to have confidence in himself. He seemed to know who he was and was content by it. Bella had to admit it was an attractive aura on a man. It was rare to see one that wasn't striving for something new or something better. Bella liked that there seemed to be other people that were content to just _be_ as she was.

Not that she didn't want more eventually. She wanted to one day have a husband and children. To one day own her own restaurant. To one day find the perfect place to call home. However, there was no real rush for that. She had the feeling it would come when it was ready.

Not that she had been like that. She had wanted Jacob for many years. But, again, she hadn't wasted her days pining for it. She had tried and succeeded to find happiness despite not having him around. And now that she knew he wasn't available, she was somewhat comforted.

She did miss the idea of him in a way. That image of the man and the kids on the swing set was alluring. And the way he kissed was wonderful. And his eyes had been the cause of so many dreams in the past, drawing her to him, tempting her.

But now she realized that those weren't his eyes at all. They were all things she had attributed to him. He kissed well because she believed it. And the image of him with the children could be something that would never happen. It was a "premonition" that she had attributed to him that wouldn't ever happen. And it wasn't his eyes that looked at her, burning, in such a way. It was the way she wanted to be looked at by someone. Desire...Passion…Love. Everyone wanted that.

Since that night after he left, when she realized that he wasn't the one she had been dreaming of, Bella had felt comforted by the fact. Everyone wanted the things she saw reflected in those dark eyes. And it made her happy to know that she was no longer tied to believing it was one unattainable person. Adnd that was what he had been. Completely unattainable: at first because she hadn't known how to find him, and then because he was married.

She was now able to pursue anyone that looked at her in that way without holding the expectations of being the Jacob she had met that night above them. Holding them to standards that Jacob himself couldn't even live up to because she had assumed that anything she wanted would be entailed within that one person. She was free to love whomever she wanted.

Bella didn't notice the form watching her from the dark woods. She got to her feet and decided to fully experience the feeling of freedom that came with her realizations. He pulled off her flip flops, tossing them behind her in the sand. They were quickly covered by her shirt and shorts. With a smiled, Bella spread her arms out and walked into the water.

It was rather cold, and Bella was happy that she had taken everything off except for her panties and bra. It would not have been fun to walk back in cold wet clothes with the sea breeze blowing against her.

* * *

The figure in the forest lay on its stomach, watching the woman walking out into the water with appreciation. The wolf cried for her, begging its counterpart to join her. He could tell she was celebrating something, the joy and relaxed way her arms flowed around her made it obvious. He would love to celebrate with her. His counterpart agreed that it would be fun to do, and he also agreed that it was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.

He wondered what she was so happy about. Her arms spread out as if embracing the horizon, and he felt a strong sense of companionship toward her. Could it be? He ached for her in a way he hadn't felt before. It was taking all of his control not to go bounding off into the water. But, what would the harm be?

Well, he could very likely scare the hell out of her. That was a strong possibility. Not many humans were used to seeing something like him come after them without fear. How ironic how often it seemed that protector was mistaken for predator.

Looking at the woman, he couldn't help but feel as if she was one he wanted to protect about all others. The idea of harm coming to her made the wolf bite back a snarl. It made the human's stomach twist up in pain knots. Yes, he would protect her from whatever came her way.

For the first time in his life though, he felt a strange need. The need to be recognized for what he was. He _wanted_ her to know he was going to protect and watch over her. He wanted to see the love and appreciation in her eyes when she accepted it. He wanted her to find him beautiful. And he wanted her to protect him, if the only way she could protect him was by keeping his heart safe. Could she be meant for it?

His mental protests became half hearted. Then, after a few more moments of inward arguing, the wolf won out. The figure climbed to its feet, snapping a branch. His head jerked upward, wondering if he would frighten her, but she didn't seem to hear it over the sounds of the beach.

After a few shimmering moments, a naked man stood where the wolf once had. He looked at the woman in the water. She seemed to enjoy it, uncaring of the cold air or cool water. Languidly, he pulled on the shorts that were pooled around one leg before stepping onto the beach.

He walked to the water, watching as the figure looked out over the water. She was deep enough in the water that it came up to just under her breasts. He hoped she wouldn't be embarrassed by him calling out to her. He hesitated, but as she looked up at the moon in appreciation, he called out, "Bella?"

Bella turned about in the water, seeing Embry standing on the shore. Again, she was very happy she had left on her underclothes. She wasn't too embarrassed. Her bra and panties covered just as much as a swimsuit would. She waved at him, "Hi."

"What are you doing?"

She smiled, calling back, "Just enjoying the water. Are you going to come in?" Embry paused for a moment before getting his courage up and walking out into the water in his shorts. She had turned around to look out over the horizon again.

He quickly swam out to where she stood in the water. "Are you okay?" he asked as he stood behind her.

Bella turned to him and nodded with a soft smile on her lips. "I woke up and couldn't sleep, so I decided to take a walk. And then I decided a swim would be nice." She felt he eyes glance very quickly to her scantily clad chest, but he showed no emotion to make her uncomfortable.

"Why are you up?" she asked.

Embry shrugged. "I guess I'm not used to sleeping on the couch, and I thought a walk in the woods would be nice. It's relaxing."

Bella felt her eyes widen. "What? Why are you on the couch?"

Embry shrugged, "My house only has two bedrooms. Charlie is in the guest room."

Bella felt her cheeks stain. "I… I'm sorry, I didn't realize I was taking your bed. I don't mind sleeping on the couch."

Embry shook his head. "It isn't a big deal. I don't mind. Besides, you are my guests."

Bella smiled at him but still felt bad. She should have known that the wonderful room had to be the master bedroom.

"You seem happy," he said slowly.

Bella smiled, "I am. I really am."

Embry's head cocked to the side slightly. "Have you been having a stroke of bad luck?"

Bella laughed and shook her head. "No. I haven't really been unhappy. But I just realized that I have everything I really need, and I still have all sorts of opportunities ahead."

"Like what?" Embry said quietly, before looking down. "I'm sorry; that was rude. You don't have to tell me anything."

Bella reached a hand out and put it against his shoulder. He looked back up to her, and she was momentarily stalled by his expression. She smiled at her, and she saw his expression seem to deepen. She tried to figure out what they all were.

His eyes seemed to speak to her in a way. Happiness… Content… Interest… Attraction… Bella paused for a moment before realizing that her eyes were most likely mirroring his. With a boldness she didn't know she possessed, Bella felt her hands come to place against his chest as she leaned toward him and pressed her lips gently to his.

* * *

**Author's Note:** So, back from Spain more tan than before! Feeling good and finally getting around to this. Had to force myself to get to work because I am wrapped up in some stories that aren't my own. Much love for JR Ward and for Kristine who introduced me.

Anyway, homework assignment: Tell me what you think about Embry. Other than shy and sweet, what are personality traits of his? I am trying to make sure I am getting across what I want to with his character. I know you don't know him super-well yet though. Don' t worry, more to come. 

Please send a review! I love to get them!


	8. Viva la Vida

Disclaimer: The Twilight Series and its characters are property of Stephenie Meyer. This is written for entertainment purposes only.

**Que Sera, Sera's Chapter Eight: Viva la Vida.**

Bella had felt Embry stiffen as her hands came to rest on his chest. And when his lips had touched hers, he had been unresponsive. She pulled back, a blush on her face. Had she misread his eyes? She could feel the embarrassment cause her to stiffen as she made herself look up into his eyes.

She was surprised. She could swear she still saw the emotions she had believed were there, with the attraction, but the interest seemed to have grown deeper. Wonder? Her brow furrowed for a moment before she spoke. "I… I'm sorry," she whispered. Bella was surprised by the strong feeling of sadness that came over her. He apparently was not even faintly interested in her. She looked down in embarrassment.

She took a half step back, but it was countered by smooth hands moving to her hips, thumbs brushing the soft skin. Bella looked up in surprise and saw confusion in his eyes. She felt a bit of hope and started to look down. But then, he stepped silently toward her. The only sound to be heard was the light wind and the waves rushing toward the sand. He pulled her close so that her body was almost against to his. And then, he bent at the knees, putting himself at her height. Timidly, he pressed his lips to hers in what was the sweetest kiss Bella was sure she had ever been given.

Her eyes slid to a close as she gently responded to him. He pulled back from the kiss and looked at her.

"Why…. Why did you kiss me?" he asked quietly.

Bella felt confusion at the question with a touch of embarrassment again. "I…" She didn't know. He had looked at her, and…. "I wanted to… I like who you are," she whispered, not knowing a better answer. However, it seemed good enough for him as he gently pressed his lips to hers again, a sense of new confidence behind it this time. Bella relaxed into it, barely noticing as her hands made it up to wrap around his neck.

He was extremely gentle. The passionate, hard kisses that Jacob had given her were nothing close to this. They had been exciting. These were calm, patient kisses. However, Bella still sensed that Embry wanted to be there. That he had that passion for it. He just was conveying it in a completely different way. She stepped toward him a bit more, and it made him stand up straighter. He responded by simply wrapping his arms around her waist and lifting her in the water against him, his lips touching hers again.

Bella marveled at how strong he seemed to be. He certainly wasn't puny, but he held her without strain against him, his arms never needing to reposition her dead weight. And she felt it would be wrong to change the… purity of the kisses by putting her legs around him. She simply kissed back, enjoying the gently pressure of his lips on hers. With a soft sigh, he pulled his lips back from hers. He looked at her then, and she felt a soft smile flit over her lips. He gently matched it with one of his own as he put her down, moving a hand up to brush her cheek.

Bella turned around in the water, facing away from his as she looked over across the moonlit water. His hands innocently wrapped around her stomach, the thumbs again brushing her skin. She leaned back into him relaxed.

Bella felt a smile cross her face as she thought of something that a friend had once told her. The way a person generally kissed was generally the way they lived life. The passionate, lustful kissers were passionate and more adventurous lovers and livers. The content and gentle loving kissers were the ones who were content and gentle lovers and livers. Bella realized that Embry kissed this way. He kissed as he lived life. But that wasn't the thing that made Bella's smile stay on her face as they stood in the water together, the waves gently rocking them. He kissed the way Bella wanted to live.

After a while longer of standing there together, she felt his head descend as he whispered to her. Bella understood, feeling that it would be odd to ruin the atmosphere of the night by talking to each other the way they would at any other time. "Are you ready you go?"

Bella sighed but nodded. His hand gently moved to take hers, and they walked out of the water together.

He looked off over the water as she dressed, not wanting to risk her being uncomfortable. Once she had put on the clothes she walked around to stand in front of him. Her hands gently took hold on his forearms as she leaned up and gently kissed him. With a shared smile, she grabbed his hand as they walked back down the beach toward the cabin.

When they arrived back, Embry opened the back door for her. He looked at her once more, smiling softly. "You should go get changed and get some sleep." Bella nodded, feeling the yawn come on as he mentioned sleep.

"I need to get some clothes to sleep in out of the bedroom first, if that is okay?"

Bella nodded. They walked up to the bedroom together. While Embry grabbed his clothes, Bella pulled some fresh underwear and a long t-shirt out of her bag. She walked into the adjoining bathroom and changed. When she came out, the room was empty.  
She sat on the bed for a moment, thinking back on being in the water with him. She didn't think anyone had ever kissed her in that way before. Sure, there had been romantic gentle kisses, but something behind his were different. She looked over the large, king sized bed with a frown. She really did hate taking his bed.

Determinedly, she stood up and walked down the stairs. She saw him struggling to get comfortable on the couch, and he looked up when he heard her snort with laughter. She smiled at him and walked over to the couch, grabbing his hand and pulling him up.

"We are both adults. You have a large, king sized bed. We can both be comfortable without doing anything either of us would be uncomfortable with."

Embry shook his head, "Bella, really, the couch is fine."

Bella sighed in mock annoyance. "You really are devoted to making sure your guests are happy, aren't you?"

Embry nodded with a smile. "I really am. So go sleep in my large, king sized bed. I am fine with the couch."

Bella shook her head. "Nope. Because your guest would only be happy if someone would sleep in the large, king sized bed, too." Embry scowled as he realized she had tricked him. He seemed about to protest, but she leaned up and kissed him softly on the lips before taking his hand and pulling him toward the stairs. "I insist. Come on."

Grudgingly, he walked with her up the stairs. As she walked into the bedroom and climbed in on the far side of the bed and looked at him. He was only wearing a pair of boxers, and she felt her eyes look over his chest. She looked at him, noticing his blush. She smiled, letting go of his hand. "I'll be good. I promise. And I'm going to make sure you are, too, so don't try any funny business." The comment brought the desired laughter to softly escape him, and Bella liked the sound of it.

"Okay, go climb in on your side. You have a whole half a bed. That's more than enough room, even for you." He nodded and walked to the other side, climbing in. After making the thoughts of his boxer-clad body leave her head, Bella fell into a wonderful sleep.

**Author's note**: First of all, I sincerely apologize for the far-too-long delay in posting this chapter. We had some family tragedies the past few months, and I did not know if I would return at all. I am going to do my best to get back on my feet. I know I have probably lost the interest and trust of several readers, but I hope that most of you will stick with me. At this time especially, as I try to start writing again, your reviews and encouragement would be most appreciated.


	9. Innermost Thoughts

_Disclaimer: The Twilight Series and its characters belong to Stephenie Meyer. This is written for entertainment only and definitely not for monetary gain. _

_**Chapter 9 of Que Sera, Sera: Innermost Thoughts**_

Embry woke up the following morning to the sun shining into his eyes. He groaned as he opened them, blinking several times to adjust. Then, he saw Bella.

She was still on her side of the bed, as was he, but she was facing him. One of her hands reached out in her sleep to touch his shoulder. In that moment, he was sure he would do anything for her. She lay there so peacefully, the sun shining over her back. It seemed as if it was creating a halo around her body, and Embry couldn't help but stare.

Her hair had become rather messy in her sleep and was spread all over the pillow, some lying on her face a bit too much. When she exhaled a peace lying across her lips blew slightly. She was adorable. True to their words, they hadn't done anything. Embry wouldn't have been comfortable with it anyway.

He had only been with a few women in his life, and never more than once. He was not the sort that woman usually noticed. And with two friends liked Jacob and Quil, it was hard to be the attention-grabber. Jacob was tall and masculine. He seemed powerful and protective. He also could be very charming, a characteristic that Jenny said helped him get whatever he wanted.

Quil was the "life of the party." Whatever Jacob made up for in good looks and manners, he made up for in jokes and liveliness. He was also good looking, but in a different way than Jacob. He knew how to make girls laugh, and he always knew how to make them feel like they were the most attractive and best woman in the room. It kept his bed warm most nights.

Embry was… different. He had always been the quietest of the three. He wasn't as charming or physically entrancing as Jacob. He didn't exude power and force people to take notice of him. Jacob really was a natural leader, and it showed in how he moved, talked, looked, everything. He also wasn't as lively or crazy as Quil. He wasn't a "bad boy," and he had never had women eat out of his hand like they did with Quil.

Embry thought of himself as the Average Joe of the three. Physically, he was the middle man. He was the middle in height, standing just between the 6 feet and 6 and a half feet of Quil and Jacob respectively. Quil was the muscular, football player type that made up for his shorter height with large biceps. While Jacob wasn't really more muscular than Embry, his showed more.

Embry was quiet. He had quiet strength to go with it. The two women he had been with had only said good things about his body, but his muscles weren't really as noticeable when covered up. He was strong, but he was lean. "A swimmer's body," he was once told.

The two times Embry had been with a woman were both when his friends couldn't compare to him. The first time when he was travelling to Los Angeles to see his mother who had moved there a few years ago. He had met a woman at a bar and, not being overshadowed by Quil and Jacob, had taken her 

home. The other time was at Jacob's Bachelor Party when Jacob turned the girl who had eyes on him onto Embry, saying that he couldn't be with her but his friend would take his place. Not the best way to get a girl in his opinion, although she hadn't complained.

He had been surprised, to say the least, when Bella had kissed him the night before. She had met the entire group, yet she had chosen to kiss him out of all of them. Quil? Seth? Paul? All available and all stood out more than him.

Yet, last night, in the water, she had said exactly what he wanted to hear. She liked _him. _She had somewhat gotten to know what he was like. She knew he was quiet and didn't stand out. And she liked him that way. And she _wanted_ to kiss him. With no other person ahead in line, he was her choice.

He leaned up on his elbow, looking over her onto the nightstand. He was sure Charlie would be gone. And Embry had said he would be at Sam's for the meeting in 45 minutes. He would have to get a shower and go through the woods. He climbed out of the bed and walked around the foot toward the bathroom door. As he passed between Bella and the balcony, he dropped a quick kiss on her shoulder.

He showered slowly, knowing he wasn't in way too much of a hurry. He could just run at a faster pace. Besides, it wasn't like there was anything important going on at the pack meeting, really.

The connection he had with Bella…. It seemed special. Sam had described imprinting to him. He had said it felt like communication between two souls. Embry hadn't been too sure what that meant. He felt something different with Bella when he had seen her at dinner that night. He hadn't taken his eyes off of her.

She seemed to be angry about something, and after looking it seemed to have been at Jacob. It was easily explainable though, he guessed. Bella had been here quite a bit growing up. Perhaps she hadn't liked Jacob as kids? He had been pretty obnoxious; Embry knew first hand. She seemed to hold a grudge.

But something else about her had drawn him to her. The way she had looked around, pleased at their expressions and the praise of her work… he could tell it was something she felt passionate about. Like him and his carpentry and woodwork. He had liked that… a lot.

It had not taken more than a second to decide to have Charlie and Bella come stay. He could not have wished for better luck when Charlie had called to take him up on his offer. A whole weekend with Bella in his home… it was his dream.

He had spent the whole Sunday and Monday morning cleaning it to make it perfect. He had finished the bed and taken out the old one. Deciding to give her his new bedroom and the first night in his new bed hadn't been a difficult decision to make either. She deserved the best. Yes, from the second he saw her, Embry had been enchanted.

But, that didn't mean it was imprinting, did it? He had never been in love before, so he had nothing to compare it to. And imprinting was extremely rare. Jacob had told him once that he had, but then he 

had married Jenny. While Embry had never corrected him, it had always seemed odd to him that he would give up looking for his "soul mate" to marry what came easy just because she was a good woman.

He believed Sam agreed with him, but neither had said anything as far as he knew. Quil was quiet about it, but Quil had imprinted on Claire. And he had been with women, a lot. I guess sometimes the "man genes" won out. Swearing off sex because he knew he had to wait until the child grew up was too much for Quil to handle. Embry didn't doubt, however, that when Claire grew up and was ready for romance that Quil would be a one-woman-only guy.

Embry couldn't imagine being with another woman right now… and he hadn't even made love to Bella. But it was still inconceivable. Maybe that was just because he wanted to be with her though? Embry felt strongly about her, but maybe that was just how falling in love was? He had seen Paul pretty love struck with a few girls. Was this much more than that? He would talk to Sam about it.

He finished up his shower quickly after deciding to speak to Sam. When he walked out with just his towel on, Bella was blinking her eyes open. He felt slightly nervous as she looked over him, but the smile on her face made him feel a bit better. "Hurrying off somewhere? I guess you are a 'wham, bam, thank you ma'am' sort of guy, then?" She sat up in bed, grinning at him.

He laughed lightly and walked to the bed, sitting on the edge of it. "Hardly. I have that meeting to go to this morning. And, I am not the sort to thank people for absolutely nothing." She laughed and leaned forward, kissing him gently on the lips.

"What time will you be back?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. It shouldn't be too long, I don't suppose. When I come back here I'll check for you and then go look for you on the beach?"

Bella nodded, "That sounds good. Do you need to leave so soon?"

Embry smiled at her, his cheeks staining a light pink. "Yes. I need to talk to Sam first. I'll hurry back as soon as I can though, okay?"

Bella nodded once more. "That sounds good. How about I make us a picnic?"

Embry grinned, kissing her lightly on the tip of her nose. "Sounds great."

He quickly pulled on a pair of shorts (and a cheap, plain t-shirt for show) before saying goodbye and dashing out of the door.

* * *

Embry arrived at Sam's house last. As he had run through the woods, he could hear the usually very late Quil taunting him. _"Uh oh…. It seems as if I am ahead of Mr. 'Be Responsible' Call. I see the house. You are _so_ late. You lose all lecturing rights. Prepare to be mercilessly called out."_ And then the voice was gone. Embry had cursed through the telepathy link, but no one had been phased to hear it.

He ran through the front door panting. The guys were seated around Sam's living room. Sam was looking at him with a question in his eyes. "Oh how the mighty have fallen!" Quil shouted from Embry's normal seat by the fire. Embry glared at him. "What is this? 'Skip out on meeting' day? Jacob commits himself to Jenny for the day, and Embry, of all people, shows up late."

Paul then joined in. "You know, some of us have work to do other than stupid whittling. Can we get started here now that Embry has shown up? We haven't had a run together in weeks, and I am sort of growing impatient for it." Embry glared at him to, and Jared stood up to his defense.

"Hey, everyone has an off day. Cut him some slack. You look a bit… tense. What's wrong?" Embry looked at Jared with a smile before shooting a significant look to Sam.

Sam nodded to him, "Embry, can I talk to you for a minute in private?" Embry nodded thankfully, and they walked into the kitchen.

They sat down next to each other at the bar before Sam started. "What's wrong? You look nervous."

"I… was wondering if you could explain a bit more of how it feels to imprint," he asked quietly, looking down.

He could feel Sam's surprise. "Oh? What happened?"

Embry had expected this. He hadn't told anyone about Charlie and Bella staying at his cabin. "I… I am wondering what it is like. Because, I met this girl… and it feels different. But I have never really loved anyone or felt too special about anyone so I was wondering if… if it is imprinting or if I just really like her or what?"

Sam frowned, looking at the counter as he thought about it. "I don't know how to explain it really. It's rare, and I think it might be different for everyone. Quil, obviously, imprinted differently. And…. Well… Jacob I suppose, but he is with Jenny, so…."

Embry nodded. "Yeah. I mean for real though. She's my age. Or, well, a tiny bit older than me."

"Tell me what happened, Embry…"

* * *

**Author's Note:** I think this was my favorite chapter to write so far, and this is being written before posting, not just after writing. I am around Chapter 13 now in writing. I love getting into the feelings of Embry, who I feel is one of the least developed characters. It is fun to sort of create him while also playing with what I know. Without sounding creepy, the personality makes me think of my mother a lot, and in a way she influences his character because of that. Anyway, I really enjoy writing what Embry is thinking, and I will probably do it later in the story as well.

Anyway, I want to thank you all for your well wishes and beautiful reviews. They really helped out a lot, and seeing your support makes me a lot more devoted to really working and getting this done. Thank you so much. Please take another moment to leave a review and tell me what you think of Embry?


	10. Confirmation

_Disclaimer: The Twilight Series and its characters belong to Stephenie Meyer. This is written for entertainment only and definitely not for monetary gain._

_Recap:_ "I… I am wondering what it is like. Because, I met this girl… and it feels different. But I have never really loved anyone or felt too special about anyone so I was wondering if… if it is imprinting or if I just really like her or what?"

Sam frowned, looking at the counter as he thought about it. "I don't know how to explain it really. It's rare, and I think it might be different for everyone. Quil, obviously, imprinted differently. And…. Well… Jacob I suppose, but he is with Jenny, so…."

Embry nodded. "Yeah. I mean for real though. She's my age. Or, well, a tiny bit older than me."

"Tell me what happened, Embry…"

_**Que Sera, Sera's Chapter 10: Confirmation**_

Embry took a deep breath before looking up at Sam. "Fine, but... could you just listen so I can… get all of this out?" Sam nodded. He had always understood that Embry didn't talk much about his feelings and was nervous about this. And confused.

"Okay, so… when we went to dinner in Port Angeles together…" He paused before deciding he might as well get it out there. "It's Bella Swan."

Sam's eyebrows rose to an almost comical level. "Really? Okay… Explain."

Embry nodded. "Thanks. Uhm…. At dinner, I thought she was…. different. Like me, I guess? She was looking at the food she had made, and she seemed to have pride and passion for it…. Kind of like how I am with my carpentry. Anyway, I thought she was… special."

He looked down and started twiddling his thumbs before continuing. "Then….this weekend, Charlie called me. I told him once that he could stay at the cabin and go fishing sometime if he wanted. He asked if he and Bella could come and stay at the beach and do some fishing. And he asked if I could be around a bit because he hates the salt water."

Sam seemed to snort at that but motioned his hand for Embry to continue. "Anyway, I thought it was great luck, so I said it was fine. I… I think he thinks it is just a vacation cabin or something. I don't think he realizes that I would be there because I… live there. So, they got there last night."

He took a deep breath. "She's just… special. I watched her cook, and I couldn't keep my eyes off of her. Not to mention that I did everything to make sure the house was perfect and everything was planned. I told my clients I would be taking a few days off… everything. And… she is like me…"

"I gave her my bed, and I went out for a run that night. And when I was coming out of the woods, I saw he on the beach. She couldn't sleep. She was just so perfect. She… she took off her shirt and shorts and walked out into the water. She just seemed to enjoy life and just….simplicity. Like me. And… I couldn't help it. My wolf was fighting me… telling me to go to her out there. And… I did."

Sam seemed to nod at this, but knew there was more.

"I called out to her, and she told me to come in. And I did. And we were looking at each other. And… she kissed me." Embry couldn't fight the blush and smile that lit up his face, and Sam's lips quirked, too. He cleared his throat and continued. "I… I was surprised at first. I didn't realize she… liked me. So, she pulled back and got embarrassed. And then… I kissed her. And when we pulled back I asked her why she kissed me and she said… she said that she wanted to and that she liked who I was. And it was just… perfect. It was what… what I needed to hear."

"We… slept together last night. We didn't do anything, but she wouldn't let me sleep on the couch while she slept in my bed. And when I woke up this morning… she was just… beautiful. And, I thought that maybe…."

Embry couldn't help looking at Sam hopefully. Sam, however, was looking at the ceiling as he seemed to think about it. "I… I know that most likely…." He said quietly. It was rare. It was probably just a girl he liked. Maybe he could love her though…..

"It wasn't like that for Emily and I. I had Leah, and when I saw her… I knew that what I had for Leah didn't compare. You don't have that to judge by but… the way you talk. About the connection and her being like you… I feel that way about Emily. And… I think there is a good chance. Also, I know you. I think that you couldn't come to be unless you were reasonably positive yourself. You have a level head. Can you imagine being with anyone else?"

Embry shook his head suddenly and furiously, and his eyes widened. Sam smiled at him and nodded. "I think I can say…. Congratulations." Embry grinned widely and, without thinking, hugged Sam.

"Really?" he asked. Sam laughed and nodded. "Yeah, and I approve. Charlie is a great guy. I bet his daughter is something special, too."

Embry nodded, suddenly wondering how he could have questioned it. "She is."

"Well, we better get in there. They will be growing impatient, I expect. Don't want Paul to go nuts, after all."

As they walked in Sam asked him a typical question. "I am guessing you haven't told her about the pack yet?"

Embry shook his head. "No. I… am not sure how she'll handle that. I want to make sure that she is wanting... what I want before I say anything."

Sam nodded. "Don't worry. If you have imprinted, she will want you back. You'll see."

They had turned the corner at the end of Sam's reassurance. "He'll see what?" Quil asked with a grin. "Is Embry in trouble for being late? I always get yelled at."

Embry glared at him and sat down while Sam shook his head. "No. Embry has a very good reason for being late." He looked at Embry who shrugged. They would find out during the run anyway. Might as well get it over with.

Sam smiled at him. "Embry and I believe that he has found his mate and imprinted."

The group's eyes widened, and they quickly voiced shock and congratulations. "Who?" Quil asked, excitedly.

Seth grinned at him, "I bet it is that girl the next cabin down from you, isn't it?"

Embry shook his head. "No… you guys met her. Charlie Swan's daughter, Bella. She and Charlie are staying at my house…"

The pack got rather nosey and asked plenty of questions, getting to a personal level Embry wasn't comfortable with. Eventually, though, Quil suggested they go for a run. Embry knew that it wasn't to be nice and change the subject. It was because, when they were phased, they had complete access to whatever ran through his head.

It didn't stop Embry from the run though. He'd have to phase eventually, and they were going to hear it all at some point. Also, the pack really hadn't had a good jaunt in the woods for a while. It was nice to have the group (with the exception of Jacob) together for it.

After a few hours of running after rabbits and squirrels, play fighting, and chasing each other around, Embry slowed down. _"Okay guys. It looks to be around two… I am going to get back to the house and spend the afternoon with Bella on the beach. We are close here, so I am going to phase back and hike through the last bit."_

"_When do you think you will tell her?"_ Sam asked, quietly.

Embry sighed. Through the thoughts of the others, and their reactions to his memories of what had happened, he knew that Sam, Jared, and Quil were all more certain that Bella was his mate. But, Embry wanted to be absolutely positive. He wanted her to know him better before he sprung something like "I turn into an animal" on her.

"_It will be a while. I want to be, at least, in a formal relationship with her before I say anything. I don't want to ruin it before it begins, you know?"_ He could feel the others approval, if impatience, and changed back. Jared phased a moment after him. "We were planning going out next Saturday, not this coming one but the next… a sort of couples' date? Maybe you and Bella want to go? Sam, Jake, me and our respective women… how's that sound? There is a live band playing in Port Angeles that we thought would be fun. Dinner and dancing, you know?"

Embry raised an eyebrow. "You? Dancing?"

Jared rolled his eyes. "Hey, every woman wants to dance. Every single one. And if they have a guy who chooses to take her dancing without her having to beg… well, we don't have to be begging later. You should understand what I mean by that. Think it over and get back with me in a few days?"

Embry wasn't sure where he would be in a week, but he nodded. "Yea, that will work. I'll talk to Bella about it."

"Excellent. Okay, get on back to your woman." Embry pulled on his shorts while Jared quickly turned back into a wolf, and the pack took off in the direction of the reservation.

Embry enjoyed the slow walk back. He didn't get tired easily, but it had been a rather fast-paced run. He emerged from the trees about a quarter mile from the cabin and walked along the edge of the water. A few minutes later, he could see Bella, lying on the beach in her swimsuit. He broke into a jog and was soon within five feet of her.


	11. All Alone Together

_Disclaimer: The Twilight Series and its characters belong to Stephenie Meyer. This is written for entertainment only and definitely not for monetary gain._

_**Que Sera, Sera's Chapter 11: All Alone Together**_

Embry got down on his knees and looked over Bella. She was sleeping. He could tell because the dark sunglasses she wore couldn't disguise the slow, steady way her chest rose and fell.

She was quite beautiful. Not in a conventional way, though. Her skin was a good deal fairer than his bronze tan. She wore a burnt orange bikini and brought out the olive undertones in her complexion. She was thin, but not overly so, surprisingly curvy for her weight. Her breasts were nothing to dote upon. Average, perhaps even on the smaller side of average.

She didn't seem to work out, but Embry had a feeling that her muscles wouldn't be noticeable if she did. Her figure didn't seem to allow much for a sporty build. A few freckles were dotted across her skin and face, but not enough to say she was freckly. The largest amounts of them were a few very lightly colored ones clustered on the top of her shoulders. It looked as if she wore a lot of sleeveless shirts and burnt but not enough for all of the dead skin to come off.

Her longest finger was about the length of her square palm. Her fingernails did not look as if they were taken particular care of, but they were not mistreated either. They weren't painted and were rather short. He knew her hands were not the softest, but they were not rough, either. He would not call them worker or aristocrat hands. They were a blend of the two. It seemed to fit because, as far as he knew, she didn't do any extremely hard labor, but she did use them frequently.

Her face was heart shaped, and her jaw was rather angular. Her lips were not wide but full. Embry imagined they were more noticeable when people were looking at them, but did not draw a lot of extra attention. Her nose was larger than the average woman's, he noticed. It was longer and completely straight in its descent toward her lips. Carefully, he slid off her sunglasses, wanting to finish his look over her. Her eyes were a little more wide spread than seemed normal, but they were rather large ovals with dark, slightly curved brows above them.

His eyes moved over the hair that was fanned out over the side of her face that was facing the sun. He brushed it back with his fingertips. It was very soft and fine, but she seemed to have a lot of hair. It was not straight or curly, but it seemed to slightly wave just a bit. It seemed a little more frizzy than most women wanted their hair, but she didn't seem to care too much about fixing it. It seemed to have only been brushed through quickly, not styled or even bothered to put up before coming out.

Embry thought she was beautiful. She wasn't a bombshell or exotic or girl-next-door. She had a few unique characteristics, but none that stood out for beauty. In fact, she looked quite plain. But Embry had seen the way she carried herself. She drew interest from the people around her, not because of how she looked but from how she acted. She had a subtle confidence about herself, and she seemed to know what to expect from herself. She seemed self-realized, and it was not a look he was used to seeing on single women very much.

Women, Embry believed, generally fell into a few categories. Some were very shy and uncomfortable with themselves or the impressions they left on others. He believed men had trouble knowing how to satisfy these women because they never seemed to be completely sure what they wanted in themselves. It was the same for another group, the ones who were oblivious to the fact that they were knock outs. These were, in Embry's opinion, the best of the majority- if the hardest to compliment.

The difficult ones fell into two other categories. There were the ones who _knew_ they were beautiful and used to it their advantage, coming off as arrogant and believing themselves to be much better than others. And there were the ones who realized or believed they weren't beautiful or worthwhile so made up for it by acting out in rude or unattractive ways.

Bella, somehow, fell into the small division of women that all the men were attracted to. She was attractive…. But she was beautiful because she was interesting. She was confident but not overly so. She knew how to take compliments without taking them too literally or not believing them. She was intelligent. And she did not look as people as if she were trying to decide how superior they were to her or she was to them. Embry was enchanted.

Embry took off to the house really quick and put on a pair of swim trunks. Walking back down to the beach, he noticed Bella had not moved. It probably was not a good sign either; the sun was at its worst point. He got down on his knees next to her and gently leaned over, pressing a kiss to her cheek.

"Bella? Wake up…" He heard her inhale deeply as a smile crossed her lips. He was in the sun's path, creating shadows over her face as she opened her eyes.

"Embry?" she said as she slowly blinked.

"Yep. I'm back." She looked up at him for a moment as if studying him, and he looked into her eyes.

They were a dark chocolate brown, but he was pretty sure there were a few specks of gold and lighter brown in them. While not a magnificent color, they seemed to suit her in a way. "See something interesting?"

Embry didn't say anything but nodded his head. He scooted behind her and moved her head so it was in his lap. "Enjoying your nap?"

"Hmm… it was good."

"Pleasant dreams?" he asked, running his fingers through her hair, delicately.

She seemed to think for a moment, and a small smile crossed her face. "Yes… it was… interesting."

"Oh?" he asked.

She nodded. "Do tell?" he encouraged with a returned smile.

She shrugged. "Well, I was in your kitchen… in the cabin… cooking a meal. And… all of the sudden a huge… well… wolf came in. It was monstrous!"

Embry stiffened a bit, and Bella laughed. "Don't worry. I don't think I have to worry about wolves coming into your house and attacking me. And this one didn't. He looked at me and sat down. He was like… a bear or something."

"What did he look like?" Embry asked, intrigued.

"He had a deep grey coat that was very full. He actually wagged his tail at me, and I walked over to pet him. And then he looked me in the eyes and I started to laugh." Bella looked into Embry's eyes then. After a moment, her eyebrows raised. "Hmm… other than the size, his eyes looked just like yours."

Embry felt as if he has just been electrocuted. She had just described him in wolf form. He was the only pack member with a deep grey coat. Leah was a light grey, but she had described him! He felt himself grin as he asked, "Oh… and are you afraid of the big, bad wolf?"

Bella sat up and snuggled back, leaning against his chest and nuzzling her face into his neck. "Not at all. I know he is just a harmless little puppy on the inside."

Embry snorted. "I'm not harmless. I can be dangerous if I want to be."

Bella laughed at him. "No need to defend your manhood. Maybe just that… you are more of a puppy to me?"

Embry nodded, satisfied with the clarification.

They spent the rest of the afternoon on the beach, talking and playing with each other. With each passing moment, Embry felt surer in the knowledge that this was his mate.

As the last rays of sun were dimming, Embry and Bella decided to finally go inside. They had heard Charlie's truck pull up sometime before and assumed that fish would be on the menu of the night.

They were laughing as they walked into the house and stopped when they saw Charlie with a bag in hand walking toward them. "Where are you going, Dad?"

Charlie shook his head, sighing. "Carson fell down his stairs… I have been called in to work since the deputy is out of commission. Actually broke his hip. Apparently, we are getting old quick. I went to high school with him."

Bella frowned. So now it was over? But… she had been enjoying herself. She nodded slowly, "Okay… I'll go get my bag."

Embry's hand on her arm stopped her. "No, Bella, please stay. It's nice to have a little bit of company around…"

Charlie looked between the two of them and raised an eyebrow before nodding. "That sounds like a good idea. Besides, you already have the time off; make the best of it. I have to get going though."

Bella looked at Embry and asked if he was sure to which he responded by rolling his eyes. "Good luck with work, Charlie. If you have time to swing back out here, you are more than welcome."

Charlie nodded. "We'll see. Take care you guys. Bella, do you want me to bring your car out here?"

Bella was about to say yes when Embry cut her off, "No, no… It's fine. I can take her back to her car when she has to leave."

"Okay, then. I did catch some fish. Had cleaned some of them for tonight. They are in the fridge."

"Great, Charlie. Thanks." Bella smiled at her father and gave him a quick hug.

With that, Charlie walked out of the door, leaving Bella and Embry in a now awkward silence.

"How to do want your fish?" Bella asked, smiling gently.

"Hmm… whatever you think."

"Fried sound okay?" He nodded, and Bella walked into the kitchen to get started.

Dinner was eaten mostly in silence. Both had plenty on their mind to distract them from the lack of communication though.

Bella wasn't quite sure what was going on. Would it be awkward to try to have a relationship with Jacob's best friend? Would Embry think differently of her when he found out? Should she tell Embry about it or treat it as no big deal and not say anything? For some reason, she felt as if Embry deserved to know everything he wanted to know about her. It felt wrong to keep things from him.

The thoughts made her head hurt. She had just kissed him for the first time the night before and now she was treating him as if he was her boyfriend. Was he? She went to take another bite of fish and realized that, during the course of her thoughts, she had eaten everything on her plate.

She eyed the plate of fish in the middle of the table, trying to decide if she wanted another. Deciding against it, she leaned back in her chair and looked at Embry. He also seemed deep in thought, and she wondered what it was about. What kind of meeting did he go to anyway? He hadn't dressed formally by any stretch of the imagination. He seemed a little confused.

And Embry was confused. He had no idea how to take the steps he knew how to happen. Or even what order to take them in. Should he wait to get closer to Bella before telling his secret to her? The pack's secret? He had a feeling she wouldn't tell anyone, but what if she thought he was some crazy monster or something? The dream she had had seemed to suggest she would be accepting of it. And, if she was his imprinted, why wouldn't she be accepting?

He was jerked out of his thoughts when she stood up from the table. She didn't speak as she took her plate to the sink and washed it. Deciding he had had enough as well, he stood up and helped her put away the leftovers.

When the kitchen was clean, she looked at him. "I… think I am going to go to bed. The sun kind of drained me today, I think."

Embry nodded at her. He wasn't all that tired, but he had no reason to stay up longer. "Okay. I'll be up shortly, too." She nodded and, hesitating for a moment, leaned in and kissed him on the cheek. He smiled at her gently, which she returned, and watched as she walked up the stairs.

He waited for thirty minutes, wanting to make sure she had time to get changed and in bed. Quietly, he walked up the stairs stopping at his bedroom door. He sucked in a breath, not quite knowing what he was doing. He knocked three times but no one answered. Slowly, he opened the door, walking softly into the room so as not to wake her. There was no need though; the bed was empty.

His heart seemed to constrict. He heard a cough from down the hall. She had moved to the guestroom.

He hadn't planned on trying to make love to her or anything, but… last night had been wonderful. While they hadn't been intimate once in bed, he had felt more… at peace and content with her there. Dejectedly, he stripped down to his boxers and climbed into the bed. Tomorrow would be a new day.

A/N: Okay, so I am back and trying to write this thing again. Things have been hectic around here. The husband is home and I am learning to be a wife again, lol. All is well though. Thank you so much for your reviews and encouragement. I have some VERY loyal readers/reviewers! Go play with that review button: it looks lonely.


	12. The Dog Tries to Escape

_Disclaimer: The Twilight Series and its characters belong to Stephenie Meyer. This is written for entertainment only and definitely not for monetary gain._

_P.S. There is a long author's note at the bottom that is pertinent to a certain anonymous reviewer who thought it important to tell me I was uneducated and mistakenly correct what I believe to be the conversation between Sam and Embry from Chapter 10. It is not necessary to read this, but it's there. Also, I am generally nice to people who criticize though I will explain my point if it is dealing to the integrity to the plot or any valid argument. However, flames are unwelcome and a very stupid thing to do if you don't have the guts to sign them. _

_**Que Sera, Sera's Chapter 12: The Dog Tries to Escape**_

Tomorrow did not come quickly for either of them. They had both tossed and turned, feeling the unmistakable air of loneliness in their respective bedrooms.

Bella didn't know why, exactly, she had climbed out of his bed before he got there and walked down the hall to the guestroom. She didn't think he minded her being in his bed. But, wasn't this going a little fast?

It scared her how natural everything felt. The beach that day had been wonderful. They had played and talked and flirted… it seemed as if they had known each other for years. Even something as mundane as cleaning the kitchen… it had seemed almost as if she was home in his company. Should it really feel like that already?

She had never felt so naturally drawn to a person. Inwardly, her heart was telling her not to fight the smoothness with which she was adjusting to the new relationship. It told her to simply take it as it came and do what felt right.

Her head was pulling her in the opposite direction. She had never moved so quickly and innocently with a man before. The terms seemed to contradict each other in a way, but it was true. They had not made love, yet they moved around each other as if they had been together their whole lives. She knew that she was not getting herself in a normal relationship somehow, but she also felt her most normal and relaxed with him.

She glanced at the clock. 10:14. She had climbed into bed at half past eight and had yet to fall asleep. She knew why, too. He wasn't there. Surely it was impossible to come to rely on someone sleeping with you after only one night. It seemed true though. The room seemed lonely, cold, and foreign. And she knew that the answer was just down the hall.

She was so sleepy, too. The sun and play from the day had drained her, despite her nap on the beach and sleeping in late. She rolled onto her stomach for a moment, closing her eyes and trying to force herself to sleep. She started to count sheep. Black sheep…1. White sheep… 2. Black sheep…3. White sheep…4.

Slowly, the sheep seemed to merge. The color of their wool mutated into the same dark grey, and their faces turned to face her. His eyes. Groaning, she opened her eyes. "Enough!" she hissed quietly to herself. She threw the covers off of her body and padded across the floor. If he was upset with her, well… she didn't really live here. She could leave.

She opened her bedroom door and was shocked to see a firm, bare chest in front of her eyes. She looked up into the surprised eyes of Embry Call, hand raised as if to knock. He lowered it, slowly, looking over her.

Bella felt a blush spread out over her cheeks as he looked over her. She was only wearing a normal t-shirt and pair of panties. He, though, was only in his boxers. She looked over him too, feeling excitement course through her veins. She could feel his smile on her, and she looked up at him in wonder. Without saying anything, he grabbed her hand and gently pulled her down the hall to his room.  
He walked through the open door with her in tow and slid into bed on the side she had slept in the night before. Soundlessly, he lifted up the sheets. Her blush deepened a bit, but she smiled as she climbed in.

Their heads sharing a pillow, they looked at each other searchingly. "Couldn't sleep?" his voice rumbled out.

"No," she whispered back. He nodded and slid an arm over her waist, pulling her to him. She tucked her head underneath his chin, sighing as she finally felt herself start to relax.

He smiled, feeling her ease against him. Her fingers slowly ran up his stomach and came to rest, palm on his chest, bent between them. "My bed is your bed." The words were soft, but Bella heard them. Somehow, it was the most intimate thing she had ever heard.

Closing her eyes, Bella finally felt able to sleep. In her mind's eye, she saw the dark eyes that she had, before, thought to be Jacob's. It was so clear that they were not, now. They were and always had been Embry's eyes. And, now, they did not keep her awake. The knowledge that the possessor of those deep eyes and strong feelings was holding her lulled her quickly to sleep, a soft smile playing on her lips.

Several hours after the first rays of light hit the sky, Bella finally felt herself slipping into consciousness once more. Before even opening her eyes, she realized that she was feeling unnaturally warm. Without a moment's pause, she pushed the sheet that had been over her off. But, she wasn't getting any cooler. She rolled onto her other side, nuzzling her head into the warm chest. That was where the warmth was coming from. She slowly opened her eyes and looked up at Embry. Did he have a fever?

She put her hand to his forehead and gasped at the heat coming from it. He was burning up! "Embry…" she coaxed, trying to wake him.

A smile crossed his face, but his eyes remained closed. "I'm always like this. Don't worry; I'm not sick."

"Don't know why you even keep sheets on the bed, then. Not like you'll ever need them. I bet you melt snow."

Embry's eyes slowly opened, and she smiled at the amusement in them. "I keep the sheets on the bed in case I have a beautiful woman that gets cold."

Bella's eyebrow raised, "Oh… that many women accompanying you to bed, then?"

Embry snorted, wrapping an arm around her waist and pulling her more snuggly to him. "Not at all. I am just trying to be considerate of you weird humans and your need for additional heat."

"Look who's talking." Embry's eyes widened for a moment as if he had had said something wrong, but he quickly relaxed. Bella rolled onto her back, and Embry smiled, snuggling his face into the curve of her neck.

"This is weird," Bella said, abruptly.

Immediately, Embry pulled away. "I'm sorry. I'm not trying to make you uncomfortable."

Bella snorted, grabbing his hand and jerking it over her again, encouraging him back into the position. "I don't mean like that. It's weird because this all feels just so… not weird. I'm comfortable, and… well, I don't think that normally happens so quickly."

Embry nodded in agreement. At least he had the knowledge of _why_ everything was so comfortable. In a moment of boldness, he pressed a kiss to her neck before moving back. Something had felt strange there.

Then, his eyes fell upon the scar. It wasn't an ordinary scar. He could see teeth marks. Tentatively, he raised his hand to her neck, pressing the tips of his fingers to it. A growl reverberated in his chest, and he felt himself shake. Bella jerked away. "What's wrong?"

Embry forced himself to calm down. There had to be an explanation as to why she had a bite mark on her neck… and why it was "unnaturally warm". "How did you get that scar?"

Immediately, a blush lit up Bella's face. She sat up in bed, leaning against the headboard. "What happened?" Embry asked again.

"A dog," Bella responded, immediately. Embry looked at her strangely, in a way that made her want to tell the truth. She looked down at her lap. "Several years ago, I was at a club. I met this guy, and we ended up kissing. He… bit me."

Embry started to feel angry and like he knew where this was going. "When you were living in Chicago?" he asked, quietly, already knowing the answer.

"No, it was a bit before I moved there. I... you know him." Bella said, her cheeks a flaming red by now.

"Jacob…" he said, understanding why she had seemed angry at him the other night now.

Bella nodded. "Yes, but… it was before they were married. And it is over now. I'm not interested in him anymore."

Embry shook his head. "I can't believe he did this," he whispered. He had _marked_ Bella as his mate. He had practically broken pack law! Several of them! He sat up a bit more straight in the bed.

The marking of one's imprinted was considered a sacred thing in the pack. After imprinting and after the woman knew what the pack member was… he marked her. It was a sort of promise between the two and between the man and the pack that the women was his only mate and that the pack must acknowledge that she was the only one to come before the pack. Jacob had broken several unwritten laws. But, there had never been any need to write them down!

_No one_ had ever marked someone without the other's permission. _No one_ had ever marked someone without them knowing that he was a wolf. _No one_ ever marked a person and then married another. _No one _marked someone without first telling the pack and introducing the woman to them. And certainly, no one, in the history of the pack had ever, _ever_ marked someone else's intended.

Jacob had betrayed the pack, him, and _Bella_ by doing this. And Embry was pissed as hell.

Bella put a hand on his shoulder. "Embry, it was a long time ago. And, it didn't hurt or anything. I didn't even notice it until well after the fact, and I never saw him again until the other night at dinner. It's really not a big deal."

Embry shook his head, turning to her. "It is for us!" he said, more angrily than he should have. She shrunk back from him. When Embry saw her fear, the anger melted away. "I'm sorry, Bella," he whispered.

He reached out for her with his hand, and she looked at him before slowly moving back into his reach. "It's just…" he didn't quite know how to phrase all of this without letting the "dog out of the bag", so to speak.

"Embry, I… I don't know if I am saying this prematurely, but you mean a lot of me. More than anyone has in such a short period of time. And, I would like to try a relationship with you. But I have to know if this whole Jacob thing, which is in the past, is going to make that impossible or not."

Embry looked at her. "There are a lot of things about me… and my friends… that you don't know," he whispered. "What Jacob did, marking you, was _very, very_ wrong."

"How? Marking?" He had heard it coming before it was spoken.

Embry looked at her and took a deep breath. "This is going to take a while. Can you try not to ask any questions? I promise they'll all be answered in the end."

Bella nodded. "Yes, I just need you to tell me what is going on. I'm kind of… confused."

Embry nodded. "And… can you promise not to judge too harshly. There are things I will say that will make certain thoughts pop into your head. And most of them aren't true." _For instance, I am not a man-eating beast that wants to kill you._

Bella hesitated but slowly nodded. "Yes, I'll listen to all you have to say…"

Author's Note: To an anonymous reviewer that needs to go to school himself before he corrects others. Using "And" at the beginning of a sentence or words like "ain't" during a character's speech is not an error in grammar (spelled with an A). It is called vernacular or local color. Unless you want to say that Mark Twain or J.M. Barrie also did not go to kindergarten. Funny, my kindergarten teacher never talked to us about formal writing's sentence structure. You must have gone to a very strange school to learn that but never read Huck Finn, Tom Sawyer, or Peter Pan. Or perhaps you are a young high school student who thinks that it makes you look smart to correct someone (no matter how wrong you are). Yes, I did go to school. Do not correct me if it is not valid. I do proofread my own stuff, and it is not perfect. However, I would not make such a gross mistake. Now, for your viewing pleasure: I proofread your review. My other readers can look at it: "A. Richardson's" review for Chapter 11 to see if I miss anything.

Fragment: 1

Misspell "Grammar"- 5

misspell other word- 1

comma splice- 1

run on- 3

improper capitalization- 5

lack of necessary conjunction- 1

lack of punctuation- 1

tense misuse- 1.

Perhaps if you used more commas, you would do better. Or less, you did have a commas splice as well. There are five instances in a sentence where a comma is needed. I use all of them (as I was taught by a professor) so that my writing is not repetitive. 4 of the five ways to form a sentence use commas. They are common in writing. When writing to a person, you italicize words you wish you emphasize. Just because the bottom portion of a colon is a period does not mean that you can end a sentence with a smiley face. And the "Grammer" thing is just disgusting. You tried to emphasize the word it seemed and screwed it up every single time.

P.S. Just so you know, I found all of these errors just reading through once. And your review was 9 lines long. I don't mind constructive criticism, yours was a flame. And you might be thinking that it was pointless to write this as I should believe you aren't reading it. However, you did manage to get all the way through chapter 11 before you decided my story was "nothing special". I suspect you did see this. Have a nice day, and next time, have the guts to sign your review. There is a name for people like you. Go watch That 70's Show and listen to what Red has to say.


	13. Leaking Secrets and Lacking Morality

_**Disclaimer: The Twilight Series and its characters belong to Stephenie Meyer. This is written for entertainment only and definitely not for monetary gain.**_

_Embry looked at her. "There are a lot of things about me… and my friends… that you don't know," he whispered. "What Jacob did, marking you, was very, very wrong."_

"_How? Marking?" He had heard it coming before it was spoken. _

_Embry looked at her and took a deep breath. "This is going to take a while. Can you try not to ask any questions? I promise they'll all be answered in the end."_

_Bella nodded. "Yes, I just need you to tell me what is going on. I'm kind of… confused."_

_Embry nodded. "And… can you promise not to judge too harshly. There are things I will say that will make certain thoughts pop into your head. And most of them aren't true." For instance, I am not a man-eating beast that wants to kill you._

_Bella hesitated but slowly nodded. "Yes, I'll listen to all you have to say…"_

_**Que Sera, Sera's Chapter 13: Leaking Secrets and Lacking Morality**_

Embry had no idea how to even begin such an explanation. The truth was not easy to accept, and it certainly wouldn't set Bella free. If she accepted it as truth, and not him just being insane, then she would be tied to the pack for life at least by having to keep the secret.

Embry sighed, feeling suddenly sober at how badly this could turn out. But, she was his mate. She should feel compelled to believe _and _stay with him, right? "One more stipulation to this… it needs to stay quiet. For the safety of my friends, tribe, and…well, the people around here."

Bella rolled her eyes. "What are you? CIA? And, yea, I will keep whatever it is quiet. I promise."

Embry nodded, not needing to consider if she would live up to her promise. She would. "Well, uhm, the truth is.…" Where to begin? Bella looked him deeply in the eyes and nodded encouragingly. He nodded back again.

"Remember that dream you had?"

Bella frowned. "No?"

"On the beach. You dreamed of being in the kitchen and a big wolf coming in. Dark grey coat?"

"Oh, right. Okay." Sensing his discomfort, she reached out and took his hand. He took a deep breath and slowly exhaled.

"It was a werewolf." Bella's left eyebrow rose slowly, her lips in a straight line. He cleared his throat and continued. "They exist."

"Oh, umh…okay. So, it wouldn't have been wagging its tail in the kitchen."

"Well, not exactly. Forget what you know about werewolves. They aren't dangerous. Atleast, all of the werewolves I have heard of aren't a danger. They exist to protect humans. Also, they don't turn only on the full moon. It is a conscious choice or something that happens when the person gets overwhelmed by something or someone."

Bella stared at him, trying to decide if he was joking. The only problem was that she could see the honesty in his eyes, and she felt like accepting this as possible. She shook her head to shake off the thought and waited for him to continue.

"There are also vampires. Those, well, they actually are how you imagine them, as far as being dangerous. Some of them came here before the U.S. was the U.S., when the Quileute tribe was new by comparison. They attacked and killed tons of us, and we called them the Cold Ones."

Embry felt relieved he had gotten to the history part. It was much easier to tell because it was just facts. No emotion really played into it. "Anyway, one of the men turned into a wolf, the opposite. Hot, fast, built to combat them. And the same happened to his descendants. If the Cold Ones were around, they continued to change regularly. It stopped aging, practically. Kept them in good shape in order to run off or kill any future vampires. When the Cold Ones were chased off, it stopped. However, when they returned, so did the wolves, boys coming of age at around 16 or so. None older than twenty that I know of. They protected the tribe, and the people of the area, from the vampires. "

Embry paused, realizing he had come to the hard part. He looked at Bella, and thought she knew what was coming. Her eyes had widened a little bit, and her hand gripped his a little more tightly.

"Several years ago, a coven of vampires came here. They fed off of animals, and our forefathers had made a pact with them. As long as they did not kill humans or come on our land, they could stay. However, it still caused us to produce wolves, creating a pack…. I am one of them."

Bella jerked slightly but did not take her hand from his.

"I…I know it is hard to believe. The…the wolf you described. That's me. Dark grey fur. I am the only one in the pack with dark grey fur. Sam, Jacob, Quil, Jared, Paul, Leah, Seth…. All different. Do you want me to….." The question trailed off, but he was sure she understood.

Slowly, she nodded, releasing his hand. He got off the bed and turned to where his back was facing her. He turned his head around to look at her. "I promise, Bella, I won't hurt you. Just stay calm, okay? I'm not a danger to you." Again, Bella nodded.

Slowly, he slid his boxers to his feet. His nerves were already causing him to shake with anxiety. How would she react? Within seconds, it was over. Bella stared, eyes impossibly wide, but she didn't look afraid. Experimentally, Embry thumped his tail on the floor.

"You…you look just like in the dream," she whispered. Slowly, Embry moved his furry head, and lolled his tongue out, trying to look as non-threatening as possible.

Quietly, Bella stood. She walked toward him and reached a hand out for him to smell. Although it wasn't necessary, Embry sniffed her hand to reassure her. He knew who she was. Then, Bella gently ran her hands through the fur underneath his mouth. Embry wagged his tail some more. Finally, Bella looked into his eyes. Seeing what she wanted, she stepped back and got onto the bed again. "You can change back now."

Embry turned back around and morphed back into his human form. Sliding on his boxers, he turned and walked back to the bed. Bella grabbed his hands and pulled them into her own, sighing heavily. "This is a lot to take in, but there is more isn't there?" She saw his hesitation and shook her head. "I'd rather hear everything now."

Embry nodded, suddenly feeling more nervous than even sharing his secret. To tell her she was his predetermined mate? He hoped this went over as well as the last.

He reached a hand up, touching the mark on her neck again. "Yeah, it is about this."

"Jacob…" Bella started for him.

Embry nodded. "Yes. Along with everything else that comes with being one of us, there is also imprinting." He took another deep breath before continuing. "It is rare to happen because we believe that there is only one person for each of us in the world. That isn't to say we can't fall in love and be happy otherwise because we can. However, there is said to be one person that is _perfect_ for us, a soul mate of sorts. If we find them, the idea of leaving them is impossible. The idea of them dying is devastating. And it is known almost immediately. When this happens, we tell our mate about us, about them being our mate. If they consent to it, we mark them. Biting them on their neck. It is sort of a symbolic bond. Not necessary, but we feel compelled to do it when we meet our mate."

Bella suddenly looked as if she was in anguish, her hand clasping to her neck. "You mean….you mean….I am Jacob's?"

Embry growled suddenly before shaking his head. "NO! No, you aren't. That is the problem. It is a _crime_, a very serious crime, to mark someone that is not your mate. It's a crime to mark your mate before they know the truth. It is a crime to mark someone and not stay with them but marry another. And it is most assuredly a very serious and _heinous_ crime to mark someone else's intended. Bonding someone else's soul mate, life mate, to them for life. What Jacob did to you was practically_ rape!_"

He had heard his voice shaking and getting louder, more angry. He also noticed his hands were starting to madly shake. Instead of pulling away, Bella grabbed his chin, making him stare at her. "Calm down," she said, voice low.

He struggled for a moment but was able to calm himself within a few minutes. Bella nodded. "That is to be dealt with later. What I need to know is…." She was quiet for a moment as she stared at him. "Is there a personal reason you are so upset about this?"

Embry glanced down before looking up at her, knowing without a doubt. "Yes. You are _mine_."

Bella's eyes closed tightly, and her head dropped. Embry felt as if he heart were going to break. "Can you explain that a bit more?" she asked. Even with his good hearing, Embry had to struggle to hear her question.

"Yes," he whispered back. "While rare, it sometimes happens. It seems like more of us than the wolves in any other time have found our imprinted, but I don't know the reason. It means that you…er…the person that we imprint on is perfect for us."

"You said that…what do you mean by it? They never argue? They like the exact same things?"

Embry shook his head, a smile quirking at the side of his mouth before quickly disappearing. "No, they argue sometimes. Trust me, they can argue with the best of them. Sam, our leader, and his wife, Emily… they are like cats and dogs sometimes. It's just that… knowing she is out there… the idea of him being with anyone else is inconceivable. We know that they are the only ones we can be truly content with. The only ones where part of our life's happiness will not be missing. They are the only ones that we feel like we can deal with whatever comes to pass, as long as she is by our side. Our imprints we will love forever and forgive for anything."

Bella was silent for several minutes. "Is it horrible of me to want some time to myself to think about this?"

Embry felt a pang in his chest for a moment before shaking his head. "No. I understand, and I will wait until you are ready for… whatever you decide you want to do. Do you want me to take you home?"

Bella nodded. "Yes, please. Just back to Charlie's house. I can drive myself home from there."

Embry stood up, taking his hands from hers slowly. He took a step toward the door. "Well, I will leave you to go get all of your stuff together. Thank you for...listening. Not thinking I am crazy and considering all of this." He turned his back on her and walked out the door, hearing in the background the sound of her flopping back on the bed and exhaling sharply.

Embry walked down the stairs and grabbed his phone off of the coffee table. He thought about calling Jacob, but thought it would be better to speak to Sam first. He knew one thing, Jacob would not get away with this.

"_Hello?" _

Embry growled, not wanting to leave a message. "Em… is Sam there? It is urgent."

"_No, he is still on the run. Shouldn't you be with them?"_ Emily said, curiously.

"I had other things to deal with. Listen, Emily, Tell Sam to come here when he gets in. I can't change now because… well, I don't think I could change back. I have to get Bella back to her father's house. You need to tell Sam to come wait for me if I am not back. Tell him there has been a _severe_ violation of pack law, and it is taking everything I can not to take the punishment into my own hands."

Emily's voice shook as he responded. _"Yes, Embry. I will tell him as soon as he gets in. Does it need to be private?"_

"Yes. I should be back here in 40 minutes or so. As soon as he can get here after that would be appreciated."

"_Okay."_ She hung up the phone abruptly, and Embry felt bad for scaring her. He was sure no one had heard him so angry, especially Emily. He must have shocked her. He heard a throat cleared behind him and turned around, spotting Bella at the foot of the stairs. "I am ready," she said softly.

Embry nodded, opening the door for her. He helped her into his car and started the drive to Forks. They rode in silence, without even a radio to break the quiet. When they arrived, he started to get out, but Bella grabbed his hand, stopping him.

"Embry… can I have your phone for a second? We can switch numbers, and I will call you to meet me when I am ready?" Embry nodded, swapping phones with her and punching his number in.

He handed it back and took his own, looking at her softly. "Bella, I am sorry I just kind of… dropped this on you."

Bella shook her head. "No, Embry. It is better that I find out now rather than later. Listen, I am not saying no to anything right now… I just need to wrap my head around this before I decide where we go from here. Do you mind if I kind of make a list of questions as I come up with them?"

Embry shook his head. She smiled, "Thanks. I have work the rest of this week, but I will try to make plans for you next week. Is… Is Jacob in a lot of trouble for this?"

"Yes," Embry said, his hands shaking slightly before he took a deep breath and stopped himself.

"Listen, he probably was just confused."

"He was stupid and he… well, we will discuss what this means later, okay? I probably won't even see him today. I am going to talk to our pack leader, Sam. We will figure out what is to be done."

Bella nodded and leaned over, kissing him gently on the corner of his mouth. She then grabbed his chin gently. "Everything will be okay," she whispered, making him smile softly in response. Then, she climbed out of the truck and walked inside without looking back.

**Author's Note (AKA- The Explanation)**

So, my old computer died, and I thought I had lost ALL that I had written. I was really upset, because I thought it was going splendidly, and I was too dejected to rewrite it. Then, I was complaining to my husband tonight that I had lost it, and I felt really bad. And he says, "Oh! Your writing file? I put that on the extended hard drive the week before the old computer crashed." Yea, thanks for telling me before hand, sweetie. One hard drive plugged in later and VOILA! Chapter 13! Thank you to **aowalison **for guilting me at the right time just before my husband called! BTW, he is in Iraq again. So, I should have plenty of time to write this thing and get it done with. So, I apologize. However, no death of a computer can stop me now!

Oh, and if you guys have any questions for Bella to ask Embry that you need answers for concerning the imprint, wolves, vampires, or whatever, let me know. I have a few already set up. Thanks!


	14. Willing to Judge and Execute

_**Disclaimer: The Twilight Series and its characters belong to Stephenie Meyer. This is written for entertainment only and definitely not for monetary gain.**_

"_Is… Is Jacob in a lot of trouble for this?"_

"_Yes," Embry said, his hands shaking slightly before he took a deep breath and stopped himself. _

"_Listen, he probably was just confused."_

"_He was stupid and he… well, we will discuss what this means later, okay? I probably won't even see him today. I am going to talk to our pack leader, Sam. We will figure out what is to be done."_

_Bella nodded and leaned over, kissing him gently on the corner of his mouth. She then grabbed his chin gently. "Everything will be okay," she whispered, making him smile softly in response. Then, she climbed out of the truck and walked inside without looking back. _

_**Que Sera, Sera's Chapter 14: Willing to Judge and Execute**_

The ride back to his cabin from Forks took about half the time it usually did. He had been so busy thinking about what had happened and what would happened, that Embry barely noticed even when he looked at the speedometer to see that he was driving 95 in a 55.

When he arrived, he jumped out of his car and ran in the house, sniffing for Sam. He wasn't there yet and, lacking patience, he quickly went outside and called out loud. "Sam!" He heard a rustling in the woods and a moment later, Sam came out, zipping up his shorts.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

Embry started to shake, and Sam called his name again using an alpha warning. Embry growled in frustration and flopped down on his porch steps.

"Explain, Embry. You scared the hell out of Emily!"

"JAKE!" he yelled.

"What about him?"

Embry closed his eyes. "He… Jake marked Bella."

Whatever Sam had been expecting, it hadn't been that. He stepped back, eyes wide. "_Excuse me?"_

Embry felt his upper lip quivering, and fought with himself not to snarl. "That _girl_ he said he met at that club in Seattle a long time ago? You were there! How didn't you know?!"

"Hold on, Embry. It's not like I had a reason to remember her. I didn't think she was _my_imprint." Sam looked angry, and Embry wondered who he was angry with. _Surely Jake._

"The girl at the club. Did he mention that he fucking marked her, Sam? That he marked her as his mate?"

"Bella?!" Sam asked, urgently.

"Yes! What the fuck do you think I have been trying to tell you? That… that… fuck, he is no better than a leech. Taking bites out of people who don't belong to him! _Forcing Bella to be tied to him for the rest of her life!"_

"Well, it isn't exactly like that, Embry." Sam said, hoping to reason with him.

"Oh yea? Tell me what it is like then, oh wise fucking pack leader!"

"EMBRY!" Sam yelled, coming over to stand over, Embry.

"Fine. What if he had done this to Emily?!"

Within a heartbeat, Sam phased to his wolf form, snarling. "See? I am being as calm as I think it is possible for you to even dream I could be, Sam. Now, I am trying not to phase because I think I am too upset to change back, but you can stay that way and listen to me!"

Embry took a deep breath and stood up, stepping onto his porch and starting to pace.

"I went back to… to my place. I was snuggling with Bella when I noticed a bite mark on her neck. I touched it and, fuck, it was our temp! I knew…I knew a wolf had bitten her, and when I asked… I just knew what she was going to say. Jacob. And she confirmed it. Said that some guy had been kissing her at a club and then bitten her. She never saw him again until at her restaurant when we all went with Charlie. I _knew_ she was angry with someone that night!"

Embry stopped, looking into the wide, wolf eyes of Sam Uley. "Sam, I am a reasonable man, I think. Hell, I even fucking called you without going over to Jacob's house and ripping out his fucking heart. But, Sam… Sam, _I want his blood for this!_"

Sam stayed still for a few moments and then changed back to his human form. Embry opened the door to his cabin and grabbed a pair of shorts out of a trunk to the side of it, throwing them to Sam. Sam dressed and then pushed Embry inside and to his living room. Embry sat down on the couch, seething, and Sam took the chair.

"What does Bella know?" Sam asked, quietly, hoping to set a calmer mood for the conversation.

Embry sighed. "She wasn't ready yet… I told her. It wasn't like I couldn't with her watching me shake and try not to lose it when she was feet away from me. Fuck, I could have really hurt her, Sam."

Sam looked down, and Embry could sense the guilt. Sam definitely knew how much Embry could have hurt her. "You didn't. So what all does she know?"

"She knows we are wolves. I told her she was my imprint, too. I told her what Jacob did to her. _He practically raped her, Sam!"_

"How did she react?" Sam asked, quietly.

"She wasn't ready! Hell, we only kissed for the first time last night!"

"What did she say?"

Embry dropped his head into his hands. "She had me take her back to Charlie's so that she could go home. We exchanged numbers. She said she wants to think about everything and figure out what questions she wants to ask me about it all. She… Sam, I can't lose her like this. Not before we have even had a chance!"

Sam nodded and walked over, sitting down on the couch next to Embry. "She did well, considering. Charlie is reasonable, and if she is anything like him, she will be, too. I think that she will respond okay once she calms down and wraps her head around everything."

"And _Jake," _Embry hissed.

"Embry, stay calm. What he did was wrong…"

Embry cut him off with a snarl. "Wrong? _WRONG?! _Sam, even if she _hadn't_turned out to be an imprintee of someone else, he _still _broke laws. Even if she _had _been his imprint and he marked her, he still broke the laws by marrying Jenny!"

Sam nodded. "Yes, but Jake thinks that Bella _is_ his imprinted."

"_I don't give a shit what he thinks! He was wrong, and we both know it! You must punish him. It is your job as Alpha to keep order and keep justice!"_

Sam sighed, and Embry pressed him more. "Again! What if this was Emily and not Bella?"

Sam growled harshly but kept his form. "You are right, Embry. He will be punished, but he doesn't know anything yet. In keeping with our end of the law, this has to be brought before the pack. He has to know what he did wrong and why it was wrong before any punishment is doled out. Also, I certainly will not have any vigilante form of justice happening." He lowered his voice into a command, _"You will not say anything to or touch Jacob in his human or wolf form until this is discussed with him and the pack. Do you understand?"_

Embry growled but nodded, feeling as if he had just been tied up. "Fine, Sam. But you are not to look at this in an accepting light. Not a single part of what he did was okay."

Sam nodded. "You are right, Embry."

"Thanks," Embry said, trying to calm down.

"I will try to get this straightened out soon. For safety reasons, I am going to have the pack, excluding you, speak to Jacob first. He is with Jenny today and tomorrow, but he will be at the scheduled meeting on Sunday. You can skip it. I will call you Sunday night with more, okay?"

Embry nodded. "Don't try to gift wrap this, Sam."

"You are off of patrol duty until further notice. I will stay off as well until Sunday, so that the guys all find out at once, before Jacob arrives. If anything happens with Bella, let me know."

"Okay," Embry said.

Sam stood to leave, and when he got to the door he turned around. "She is yours, Embry. For what it is worth, I think she will stay that way. Just give her time, and when she is ready for them, answers." Then, he left.

* * *

Sam stood in his living room, looking over the pack (excluding Jacob and Embry) thirty minutes before the actual meeting was set to start. He could sense the confusion coming from the pack and hear the mutterings as they spoke softly to each other. Why were they asked to come early? Why were they told to show up in their human forms? Why wasn't Jacob or Embry here? Was everything okay?

Sam was more preoccupied with thoughts of where this little show should take place. Emily would be really pissed off if they phased in here, shredding furniture and breaking things as they went. Paul was leaning against a wall next to the antique end table she has just bought three days ago. Yes, if they stayed inside, that table would be busted. Paul was not known for his cool temper, and he certainly wasn't known to spare furniture of any kind when he lost it.

He had told Emily to leave earlier, and she had. She hadn't even asked him questions. That was rare. She was used to being told that he couldn't tell her something, but she usually asked anyway.

Jared finally pulled away from his conversation with Seth. "So, uhm, what is this about anyway?"

Sam groaned. He had to do it inside. If they did it outside, they would think it was okay to change, and it wasn't. He couldn't have Jacob showing up and getting that before he had a chance to explain it all. A wolf brawl was not something on the planned agenda, and Sam wanted to keep it that way.

"Paul, can you move away from that table… it is new," Paul looked at him in confusion, shaking lightly.

"I have decent control, you know," he muttered angrily.

"Actually, you guys…. Let's move the furniture out of here, okay? It will just take a few minutes. Just put it in the kitchen and open the front door so people can get out if they need to," he instructed.

With only curious glances, the guys quickly did as told. Within 10 minutes, the room was cleared and everyone was waiting around to hear what the pack leader had to say.

"Now, as you all know, I asked you here early. Also, you have noticed, Jacob and Embry are not here. I have some news regarding the two of them, and you are all to _stay calm_. I will not have my house turned into a wildlife reserve, got it?"

The guys around the room nodded, and a few sat down on the floor.

"I have tried to come up with the best way of telling everything before you start asking questions. So, I am going to ask you all to try not to interrupt me. There is not to be any phasing, period, if you can handle it. Jacob should be here in twenty minutes, so we need to get this going."

When Sam's only response was silence, he started.

"It was announced at the last meeting that Embry had found his imprint. Bella Swan. First, have any of you met her before that you recall?"

Everyone shook their heads except for Quil. Sam nodded toward him to explain. "I thought she looked familiar, but I still don't know where from. Is Embry okay?"

"He is as well as can be expected. It turns out, several of you have seen Bella before, but not for a reason any of you should have remembered her. She is the woman Jake believes is his natural imprint."

Seth's face jerked up. "Shit! He is going to be pissed!" The guys all nodded and murmuring started, but Sam stopped it.

"Be quiet! Embry… Embry is more pissed off than you can imagine. Jake has broken laws."

Everyone was quiet but Jared broke the silence with a question. "What laws? I mean, sure, he was deluded enough into thinking he had imprinted on a girl that he was okay to forget about and marry, but we all know she isn't really his imprint."

"That is true. Unfortunately, Jake did more than _think_ she was his imprint. He…" Sam took a deep breath, having the feeling that all hell was about to break loose. "He marked Bella at the club that night."

All was silent for a moment before Jared and Quil jumped to their feet. "He _what?!"_The other guys looked shocked, but not nearly as angry as the imprinted wolves did. They muttered while Jared and Quil stared in shock at Sam.

Sam nodded, waving a hand at Jared and Quil who submissively sat down again, tense. "The marking of one's imprint is only done in very exact circumstances. While unwritten, there are vocal laws as to how this can be done. First, a wolf must introduce his intended to the pack. Second, he must tell the imprinted what he is and gain her acceptance. Third, he must ask permission before marking the imprinted. The mark signifies that the imprinted is the _only_ thing that comes before the pack, a contract of sorts between the wolf, the imprint, and the pack's blessing of the union."

"Also, Jacob broke some… unspoken laws, in my opinion. Things that were never even spoken of because the idea of doing them is so… unforgiveable that no one ever really thought about it. First, to mark someone as your imprint and then marry someone else while that person is still alive…. And, what I am sure Jared, Quil, and Embry think the most serious, as do I… marking a member of the pack's imprint as your own."

Leah said the first thing she had all evening. "What does this mean for Embry and Bella?"

Sam looked at his feet. "For the rest of Bella's life, even if she is with Embry, Jacob will always be… someone she is attracted to. She will always have feelings for him, no matter how happy she is with Embry."

"Is there any way to undo it?"

"I'm not sure. Not that I am aware of," Sam spoke quietly.

The entire pack started muttering, small growls emitting every now and then as they spoke between themselves. It was at just that moment that Jacob burst through the door with a grin on his face.

"Jenny's pregnant!"

**Author's Note:**Thanks so much for sticking with me, you guys. I was very pleased to get such great reviews rather than the "It's too late. We have up on you" replies I expected. Please give me some more. I am very happy to be writing this again. I really missed it. In a review a while back, someone asked how smutty this would get since I changed the rating to M from T. I don't really write strong lemons. I want people to read my story for the plot and the characters, rather than to fantasize. Don't get me wrong, I very much enjoy my adult life- I just prefer to keep it off of paper. :) This story is based on relationships that do have sexual elements in them, but it is not the reason for the story. I am sorry if this disappoints. The story could probably be rated "T", I just prefer to err on the side of caution. Thanks!

On the side, I am going to be going through the past chapters and editing them. Might as well please the new readers with no typos, right? Anyway, it might put updates that aren't actually updates in your inbox, so I apologize if I upset you, lol. Thanks for your support! My favorite reviews are the ones that tell me what you think is going to happen. I like to think myeslf to be quiet secretive and original enough that you don't know how the entire story is going to play out. So, while all reviews are _greatly_ appreciated, if you feel up to elaborating on how the story is going in your mind's eye, please do! Also, I will answer questions as long as they won't ruin the storyline. **_Now,_ _that review button looks lonely._**


	15. What is a river in Africa, Alex?

_**Disclaimer: The Twilight Series and its characters belong to Stephenie Meyer. This is written for entertainment only and definitely not for monetary gain.**_

"_For the rest of Bella's life, even if she is with Embry, Jacob will always be… someone she is attracted to. She will always have feelings for him, no matter how happy she is with Embry."_

"_Is there any way to undo it?"_

"_I'm not sure. Not that I am aware of," Sam spoke quietly. _

_The entire pack started muttering, small growls emitting every now and then as they spoke between themselves. It was at just that moment that Jacob burst through the door with a grin on his face. _

"_Jenny's pregnant!"_

_**Que Sera, Sera's Chapter 15: What is a river in Africa, Alex?**_

For not the first time that night, people were stunned into silence. Jacob halted, surprised not to have a joyful reception to his news.

"Is everything okay?" Jake looked around, checking to see if everyone was accounted for. "Where's Embry?"

Without warning, Paul phased, his shorts flying off of him in dozens of pieces. Sam noticed that Paul was right where the antique end table would have been if he had not had the foresight to move it. He was broken from any momentary relief, however, when he automatically jumped between Paul and a very startled Jake.

"Get him out of here, Jared!" Sam ordered. A moment later, Paul and Jared were gone, and Jacob was left gaping.

The rest of the pack was shaking in various degrees, and Sam issued another command. "Calm yourself! Jacob, sit down!"

The pack quickly obeyed, and when silence had come over the room again, Sam spoke.

"Jacob. You are to tell us what happened with Bella Swan and you a few years ago."

Jacob's eyes jerked up from their position on the floor in shock. "What is going on? Is Bella okay?"

Sam growled and heard it reverberate through the room. "Bella is healthy. Tell us what happened."

Jacob's head dropped, "I saw Bella. I just… I knew she was mine. I... I marked her, and I know that is wrong since she doesn't know and I never asked her or told you guys. I'm sorry."

"Your foolish actions have repercussions, Jacob!" Sam shouted, causing Jacob to jerk.

"I know! I know! I looked for her, too. All of you know that I looked for her. I waited. Then, I met Jenny, and it wasn't fair to her to keep looking."

"Oh?! And you think it was fair to Bella?" Jared asked, walking back through the door sans Paul.

Jacob looked up at him. "No. I went to her that night, after dinner in Port Angeles. She… she won't be with me either way. So what does it matter?"

Leah jumped on Jacob, pinning him to the floor. "You listen, Jake, and you listen well. You shouldn't be with her! It's the fact that you _marked_ her which is an issue here. You have just potentially ruined the love lives of four people, including your own!"

Sam pulled her off, and looked at her sympathetically. She pulled away and sat down where she had been. Leah, out of everyone, knew what it was like to love someone you couldn't have and to have pack ritual ruin it. Sam also knew that Leah had a soft spot for Embry, the only person who never teased her aside from himself and her brother.

Jacob was shaking his head. "Jenny will never know. Bella will find someone new eventually. I am the only one hurt here."

Quil spoke up quietly. "Jacob… you marking Bella… She will _always_ feel something for you. She will _always _be attracted to you because of what you did. Neither you nor she will ever be able to love anyone else or each other completely. And, Jenny, she will never have your whole heart. And… and…." Quil turned his eyes to Sam, asking him to continue.

"Does this mean she will take me back? I mean… I know it will hurt Jenny, but I'll still provide for them. Then, only Jenny will be hurt."

"Bella is not your imprint, Jacob. As far as we know, you don't have one."

"I _told_ you she was my imprint years ago, Sam!"

"I know what you told me, but if she really was you _never_ would have looked at Jenny while there was even the slightest glimmer of hope concerning Bella. You never would have stopped looking for Bella in the first place."

"Just because I met-"

"No, Jacob! That is the truth! Besides, Bella has been imprinted on."

"What?! Who?"

"Embry. Embry imprinted on her that night at the restaurant. He told her about him and what you did and what she was to him a few days ago. She is his, Jake."

"Liar!" Jacob yelled, and Sam responded by growling ferociously causing the entire pack to shrink back.

"Jacob, the pack and I have discussed what you did wrong. Marking someone before she met the pack, before she knew what you were, before you asked for permission. On top of that, you have now partially bound her to you, taking away from the imprint with one of your _brothers_."

"You are all being unreasonable. Embry couldn't have imprinted on her. I did!"

"Oh, I assure you… we are all being reasonable. In fact, _very _reasonable. Embry isn't here tonight because I told him to stay away. He asked for your blood, Jacob. I am not sure if even my commands could have stopped him from killing you if he saw you right now. And, right now, if I were in his shoes… well, I can't say for sure even he was completely unreasonable to ask for it."

Jacob continued to shake his head, but even he looked a little sobered by the thought of the pack pacifist wanting to kill him. "This isn't right, Sam!"

"No! What you did wasn't right! You knew that or you would have told us about marking her when it happened. Jake, you are to leave. You are not to go anywhere near Bella or Embry until further notice. I will be meeting with the council elders and they will help us decide what punishment is fit. Until then, I recommend you go home to your wife. You are expecting a baby now. Act like it! The time has passed for fighting over brothers with girls who are not yours to fight over in the first place. Leave."

Jacob stood and walked to the door, only glancing back when Sam called his name.

"Jacob- tell Jenny congratulations."

When Jacob was out of hearing range, Jared spoke up. "What do we do?"

Sam shook his head, "I think that Embry deserves some say in that, and Bella. For now, she is what his focus is on. She is trying to adjust to everything right now. Anyway, the meeting outside of this was routine. Stay on the usual patrol schedules; rotate out Embry and Jake's spots between all of you. Jared, you can take care of the scheduling. I have to call Embry."

Knowing they were dismissed, everyone left quickly. When the last person, Seth, walked out, Embry grabbed his phone.

His called was answered on the second ring by a very depressed Embry. "Hi, Sam…" he mumbled into the phone.

"You haven't heard from her yet," Sam stated, knowing it was the truth already.

"No. Sam, what if she doesn't call? What if she just can't handle it?"

"She'll call, Em, I promise. Just try to be patient. It is a lot to take in. It's even more to take in than Kim and Emily had to deal with. She just needs some time."

Embry sighed loudly. "I know. How was the meeting?"

The edge that had come to his voice once Embry thought about the meeting was audible and completely expected on Sam's part.

"We told him. He is in denial though. He still thinks she is his imprint, and he is angry at us for not agreeing with him. He… he told us that Jenny is pregnant."

The other end of the line was silent for a few minutes until a very angry voice spoke. "Tell Jenny congratulations for me next time you see her. I know she's wanted kids for a while now."

"Yeah. Listen, Em. I know that you are upset, and you have every right to be angry. However, I think you need to get this worked out with Bella before we take any action. We need to see how strongly the repercussions will be. I think she will come around, and that is great. I think you will not be as… stable as you should be until you know for sure, though."

"You are right. We should wait. I just want you to know that no matter how good or bad this turns out, it doesn't make what he did any better or worse, and it shouldn't affect his punishment."

"I know, Embry. Trust me. I am going to try to do right by you. I will be talking with the elders about this, as well as the pack. When I get their feedback, I will talk to you and Bella and see what you think. In the meantime, I am going to be looking for a way to counter the effects of Jacob's marking on Bella. Perhaps there is a way to negate it; it isn't like we have-"

Sam was cut off by a shriek from Embry. "My other line! It's Bella. I gotta go," Embry rushed out. Then, Sam's line went dead. He shook his head with a smile on his face. Bella was, without a doubt, Embry's imprint.

"Hello?!" Embry shouted into the phone. "Bella? Are you there?"

He heard a soft chuckle before her response. "Yes, Embry. I am here."

"Oh! Uhm, yea. Hey, Bella. Uh, what's up? I mean, how are you? You…" Embry trailed off, feeling his face heat up a bit. She turned him into a teenage girl!

She laughed again, louder this time. "I'm doing okay. Don't get me wrong; what you told me was… unexpected. I would like to talk about it though. I just finished work for the day, and I am exhausted now. Are you available tomorrow or Tuesday?"

"Yes!"

"Uhm, which one?"

"Tomorrow?" he asked, eagerly.

"That sounds great, Embry. I can make dinner. How about seven?"

Embry jumped up from the chair he had been slouching in all day, grinning. "Yes! What's the address? He grabbed a pen from the coffee table and held out his palm to write on. Do you want me to bring anything?"

"I'm at 312 Magnolia Park Avenue in Port Angeles. Townhouses. I am number 6. I only have water, milk, orange juice and wine to drink. If you prefer something different, you could bring that."

Embry nodded into the phone, "That sounds great! Uhm, Bella, are you okay?"

He could hear her smile, and it made his grin widen when she answered, "I'm great, Embry. I'll see you tomorrow. Goodnight."

"Goodnight," he echoed and flopped down on the couch wearing what seemed to be turning into a permanent grin.

* * *

Author's Note:

Hey. So, I won't be answering questions which will be answered in the story. It's pointless to tell you when you'll read it in a few days anyway. For someone who asked: Jenny is _not_ Jacob's imprint. For someone else: I don't know where the marking thing came from. Most of my story lines come from insomnia, and I end up jumping out of bed. The "where it came from" is always blurry. Probably something else I read. Most importantly, I got a review asking about speeding up the pacing of the story by making the chapters longer. No, it wasn't a offensive review in the least. Just something I want to answer for all of those curious. I know I don't have long chapters compared to some other fanfiction. I write when I am feeling it, though, and it usually is a certain part of the story I am excited about. I write that part, and I stop. If I force it too much, I get writer's block. Because my writing isn't on a schedule, I save chapters so that I don't go 2 weeks without doing one followed by a burst of once a day for three days. Forcing it makes the writing a lot less good, and I give up (AKA: Prima Facie). If it is easier for you to wait until you've had three chapters uploaded, please do that. Sorry, I am not comfortable changing the pace.

Okay! That's it. Thanks for your wonderful reviews. Speaking of reviews: To **Crystalsearcher **who said my review button didn't look lonely- it _does_ look lonely. It flirts with my readers by acting all demure and hopeful to attract attention. Obviously, it succeeded last chapter. ;) Let's hope it keeps its game up.


	16. Serious Discussions

_**Disclaimer: The Twilight Series and its characters belong to Stephenie Meyer. This is written for entertainment only and definitely not for monetary gain.**_

"_I'm great, Embry. I'll see you tomorrow. Goodnight."_

"_Goodnight," he echoed and flopped down on the couch wearing what seemed to be turning into a permanent grin._

_**Que Sera, Sera's Chapter 16: Serious Discussions**_

Embry sat in his car in Bella's driveway with his eyes stuck on his wristwatch. He had been so excited and eager to get to her that he had arrived fifteen minutes early. Waiting those fifteen minutes was excruciating.

He watched as the second hand hit the twelve and burst out of his car, slamming the door. He got a few steps away before jerking back to get the bottle of wine he had brought out of the car. Then, he jogged up to the door and rang the bell.

A minute later, Bella opened the door looking very amused. "I was wondering how long you were going to sit in my driveway. I heard when you pulled up."

Embry looked down at his feet sheepishly. "I didn't want to interrupt you if you weren't ready for me, yet," he mumbled.

Bella laughed, "Well, I am definitely ready now. Come on in."

She opened the door wider and motioned him inward. Once she closed the door behind him, she eyed the bottle he was carrying. "Is that for me?"

"Yes," Embry said, holding it out to her. She took it and looked at the label while he spoke. "I, uhm, realized I didn't know what you were cooking, and I didn't want to bug you. I went to the wine shop and asked the guy for a good bottle. He said this was pretty good, but if you have something that you would prefer to have instead, we don't have to drink this one tonight."

Bella looked up at him and smiled brightly. "It's perfect, Embry. Thank you." Embry sighed softly in relief .

"Dinner is ready now if you want to eat. Maybe we could discuss some more straight-forward questions that I have over dinner and then talk more personally afterward?" She then took his hand and led him into the kitchen, gesturing to one of the chairs at the set table. He stood while she uncorked the wine and poured it for them, taking it to the table.

Embry sat down and watched as she took the lids off of the dishes. He looked at it, unsure what it was. She laughed. "It's German. Rouladen with spaetzle. It's bacon, pickles, onions, and mustard rolled up in thinly sliced beef. Spaetzle is just a homemade noodle, and the sauce from the rouladen is on top of the spaetzle. I made some green beans on the side which are just my creation."

Bella served his plate while she stood and then her own before taking her seat. First, she took a sip of the wine he had brought. "Are you going to eat, Embry?"

He shook his head. "My, uhm, my mom always said it was rude to take a bite before your host does."

Bella smiled at him and nodded, "Okay, then. The wine is very good by the way. An Italian Moscato is one of my favorites. She took a bite, and as she chewed, he took his own.

Bella laughed when he made a noise of appreciation. "I am guessing you approve."

Embry nodded, happy that his skin tone made it difficult to noticeably blush. "It is. Thank you for cooking dinner."

Bella nodded at him again. "So, while you eat, do you mind if I interrogate you?"

Embry shook his head, wiping his mouth with his napkin. "No. Ask whatever you want to know."

Bella nodded. "Okay. Well, you obviously still eat normal food, but is that your typical diet?"

Embry nodded after swallowing another bite. "Yes. We have to eat a lot more, though. Our metabolism is a lot higher than average and, as you can see, we are all pretty big."

Bella frowned. "I'm sorry. If I had known I would have made more tonight."

Embry waved a hand lightly, "No, it's fine. I expected you to cook for the average man and ate a larger lunch than normal. After this, I should be fine until morning."

"Okay, so how much do you eat on average?"

Embry was quiet for a moment as he tried to decide how to answer. "Well, if I were to eat… hamburgers and fries… I probably am full after the third Big Mac and large fry combo."

Bella laughed, "Wow, that is a lot of food."

Embry nodded. "What else?"

"Well, have you always been so… big?" At this, Embry laughed.

"Hardly. When I was a kid, I was the scrawniest and second-to-shortest kid my age on the reservation. When we prepare to become wolves we start to get big. Our temperature heats up and we feel sick initially, all the while growing rapidly. Once we are a wolf and from then until we stop phasing, we run at a toasty 108 degrees."

"Phasing?" Bella asked, curiously.

"It is what we call it when we change."

"Does it hurt?"

Embry looked thoughtful. "At first, yes, it did. It is really sudden though, and the pain ended quickly. Either it is doesn't cause pain after a while or I have just grown tolerant enough of it not to really notice."

"What does it feel like?"

"That's hard to explain, really. Usually, and especially when we are new to it all, it is done when we are angry or panicking. Uhm, I guess I would liken it to an explosion in a way. It's so quick that one second we are just shaking and the next… it as if our insides have grown too large for our outsides. After it is over, it is kind of like you have been freed. Soul and body, both. We are able to smell, hear, and see better."

Bella nodded. "So, the…. I think you called them 'Cold Ones', how hard is it to kill them? Are there a lot of them?"

Embry shrugged. "I am not sure. The ones who were here and brought on my change were in the treaty. I haven't had a vampire that needed to be killed yet. They are supposed to be pretty hard to kill, though… a good fight. It is possible, though. As for their numbers, I am not sure. We only know of ten or eleven. The ones that we hold the treaty with have some other non-human-eating friends or whatever in Alaska. We don't really talk to them. Despite saying they eat only animals, we don't trust them. They are still very dangerous."

"Are they still around?"

"No. They left here about a year ago. Most had been gone for a while, but the last of them, the ones who are parental figures and one of the younger ones, left then."

"Do you want anymore to eat?"

Embry shook his head. "No, I will be happy to take some leftovers off your hands, though."

Bella smiled, "My pleasure. Want to go into the living room and talk a bit more?"

Embry nodded, and they both grabbed their wine glasses, and Bella picked up the bottle as well, and went into the living rom. They sat down at the couch, both leaning against the arms a bit, so that they could look at each other easily.

"So, I am guessing you have more serious questions you want to ask me," Embry said, quietly.

Bella nodded. "Yes. I hope I am not interrogating you too much."

"No. I understand. But, do you mind if I ask you some questions as well? To get to know you better?"

"That's fine. You can start." She took his empty glass from him and refilled it before handing it back, her hand brushing his.

"Okay. Uhm… how close are you with your family? You don't have any siblings, right?"

Bella nodded. "No siblings. My family… well, that is a little complicated. I lived in Forks with my parents when I was young. My mom divorced my dad when I was four, and we moved around a bit. We settled in Phoenix for most of my childhood. My mom was always very… free spirited. I grew up quickly and was good at mostly taking care of myself. She's always been more of a friend than a mom, but I think the tension of not really having a mom doesn't even make us close friends. We get along okay."

"My mom met Phil, her husband, when I was thirteen. She married him when I was sixteen. Phil plays minor league baseball. He got traded and had to relocate to Jacksonville three months after my seventeenth birthday. I didn't want to move with them, and I was already settled in Phoenix, so my parents allowed for me to be emancipated. I stayed in their house in Phoenix and they sent the money to provide for me, but it was not necessary for me to have a guardian that way. I finished my senior year on not so great of terms with most people. They thought that I was bound to be this partier or something since I had my own place, and most people thought I had been with a lot of guys because of it. So, when I got a scholarship to UW, I thought it was a good chance to drop that image and be closer to family."

Bella looked at Embry to see if she was talking too much, but he seemed to be very interested in hearing what she had to say. She continued. "I wasn't very close to Charlie. I had come for the summer for a few weeks from the age of five up until I was eleven, but we were still distant. I got pretty close to him while I was at UW, though, even if I didn't go to Forks very often. I was only there for a year. At the end of my first year at UW, I was given the option of culinary school in Chicago and moved there. Charlie and I got a bit closer while I was there out of necessity. We talked on the phone; he visited me a few times, too. After school and three years working in Chicago, I moved back here to take the job offer I have now."

Embry nodded. "Okay, your turn."

"Does me being your imprint mean that you will only care about me because I am a good genetic match for you? Does it just make you _feel_ like you could love me? Do you not have choice but to feel this way about me?" Bella looked down at her lap and sounded upset.

Embry put down his glass and reached out, grabbing her hand. "No, Bella. You are supposedly a good genetic match for me, but there is more to it than that. Imprinting takes us to someone that we are truly compatible with. It means that we will have a lot of things in common, similar opinions and goals. You would be beautiful to me even if my body wasn't telling me you are the other half of my soul."

Bella looked up at him, her eyes sparkling with unshed tears a bit, and nodded. "Your turn."

"What do you want out of life? What is your dream? Where do you want to live?"

Bella sighed. "When I was younger, when I first became a chef, my dreams were like so many others. To be famous. To have a five star restaurant without prices on the menu that all of the celebrities went to. I didn't think about kids until later. Now, I like the idea of having a good restaurant that people enjoy. I want somewhere that can provide for me but let me still be myself and cook what I want. I want kids... two or three of them, I think. I don't really care how I live. I would like to kind of be somewhere I can settle into though. I want a steady group of friends that I can grow old with."

Embry smiled at her and nodded. He looked down at their hands, noticing they were still together, and started to pull away. However, his smile widened more when she squeezed his.

"What does this thing with Jacob Black mean? The bite mark?"

Embry closed his eyes and tried to stay calm. "He marked you as his imprinted. Forgive me if I take pauses. It makes me upset, and it is dangerous if I phase closely to you. I could hurt you…." When she nodded, he continued. "As I said last time, it isn't necessary to mark a mate. But, it is important. It is generally thought to be more symbolic than anything. The woman, the one imprinted on, usually is already wanting marriage and to be with the wolf from then on. It does have effects, though."

"What kind of effects?"

"Well, it's quite detailed. For me, or a wolf, the idea of cheating on our imprint is inconceivable. We would never cheat because, after we imprint, the allure of other women is simply nonexistent. There is absolutely no desire to look at or be with other women. For you, the imprintee, that is not the truth. You are still able to find other men attractive. They can still be enticing for you. Once marked, that is over. The one imprinted would be like the wolf, both of them only wanting each other as long as they both are alive. That is why it is a law to ask before marking one's imprint. It takes away their option of saying no, in a way. "

"So why was I able to have boyfriends in Chicago? Why am I attracted to you?"

"Because Jacob didn't really imprint on you. However, that doesn't mean it doesn't still affect you. I… you will always be attracted to him. As, as far as I know, you will never want…" Embry started to shake and Bella's eyes widened. She scooted to him, grabbing him in a hug.

"I… I get it. He… how could he do that?" Embry's shaking calmed down, and his arms came to wrap around her as he felt her tears drop onto his shirt.

"I… I don't know. He thinks that he _did_ imprint on you. We who truly have know that it can't be true. I would have _never_ stopped looking for you until I knew you wouldn't be with me, and even then I can't imagine moving on. I would have _never_ married someone else without finding you first."

"So…I would never be able to give myself wholly to someone else, not even you?" Bella asked, crying softly.

Embry nodded, doing his best to stay calm while he rubbed her back. "No, and…." Embry closed his eyes. "I don't know what it means since you _aren't_ his true imprint, but you deserve to know everything. I am so sorry…."

"What?" Bella asked, pulling away to look at him again, her hands braced on his chest.

"When a wolf marks his true imprint, she is unable to become pregnant with anyone else, ever."

Bella jerked away, eyes wide. "What?!"

"You… you won't be able to get pregnant with another man's child. God, I wish I didn't have to tell you this. You, I guess it might be possible with me since you _are_ my true imprint and I am a wolf, too. I am not sure, though."

Bella's eyes turned angry. "What is going to happen to him? What will they do to him? Can we reverse this?"

Embry looked down, "I don't know, Bella. The only way I can imagine is if I were to mark you eventually. Maybe, then, it would be strong enough to break the bond with him, as your true mate. Returning you to being able to be with a normal man, though… I don't think so."

Bella's anger fell away to be replaced with complete and utter sorrow. She looked down and started to cry in a way that made Embry want to grab his stomach and curl into himself. Embry pulled her back down into him and simply held her while she cried, not bothering to wipe away his own tears. She probably wouldn't want to be anywhere near him after this.

* * *

Author's Note: Yes, I know Moscato is a white wine and red meat is meant to be served with red wine. Don't you think it was super sweet that Bella drank the wine that Embry brought for her rather than correct him, though?

Also, from my notes is a more detailed description of what marking's effects are on the imprinted: For an imprinted wolf, the idea of infidelity is inconceivable. If their mate is available as a mate, they will not (because they have simply no desire to) mate with another. For an imprintee, though, it is different. They don't have a sense of mystic devotion as strong as the pack member. A wolf's true imprint is to fulfill him but also create future, strong pack members. The bite, while symbolically significant for reasons previously mentioned, "infects" the imprintee with a sense of strong devotion to her/his true imprint. This is the reason why a wolf has to ask permission to mark one's imprinted. After an imprintee is marked, it is unlikely she will want to approach a potential mate that previously she would have been interested in. As well as the fact that, once marked, a wolf's true imprint is unable to conceive with anyone else. After all, a pack member would most likely not be fulfilled _or_ bringing children into the world if his imprintee was pregnant with someone else's child. The small amount of saliva going into the bloodstream injects the DNA of that specific wolf which is what keys the imprintee toward them specifically. There is a small amount of mysticism _and_ science involved. Those of you who have read _Toward the Moon_ know how much I like the blending of the two when it comes to "marking". BTW, if you haven't read "Toward the Moon", please do.

Thanks for all of the great reviews and please keep sending them. Also, start to think about how devastating things are for _all_ involved. Even though Jacob did a bad thing, you are still allowed to love him. No more "you should have Embry kill him" stuff- that's not going to happen. ;)


	17. Comfort

_**Disclaimer: The Twilight Series and its characters belong to Stephenie Meyer. This is written for entertainment only and definitely not for monetary gain.**_

"_What is going to happen to him? What will they do to him? Can we reverse this?"_

_Embry looked down, "I don't know, Bella. The only way I can imagine is if I were to mark you eventually. Maybe, then, it would be strong enough to break the bond with him, as your true mate. Returning you to being able to be with a normal man, though… I don't think so."_

_Bella's anger fell away to be replaced with complete and utter sorrow. She looked down and started to cry in a way that made Embry want to grab his stomach and curl into himself. Embry pulled her back down into him and simply held her while she cried, not bothering to wipe away his own tears. She probably wouldn't want to be anywhere near him after this._

_**Que Sera, Sera's Chapter 17: Comfort**_

Embry woke up on Bella's couch the next morning to the sun shining in his eyes from a nearby window and the sound of her washing dishes in the kitchen.

He sat up quickly, surprised. He had fallen asleep? He had held her for a long time and remembered her falling asleep on his chest. He hadn't left though. He had told himself that he wanted this last bit of time to hold her. He wanted more time with her before she told him to leave and never see him again. However, he had only meant to hold her for a little while longer. He didn't remember falling asleep there.

He rubbed his eyes as he stood up and walked into the kitchen. She was standing next to the sink, facing away from him as she dried a plate. "Bella?"

She turned around with the plate in hands and smiled awkwardly.

"I'm… sorry I fell asleep on you last night, Embry."

Embry shook his head. "No, it's fine. I wanted to be there for you. I didn't mean to fall asleep, too, though. Really, Bella, it's your choice if you don't want to be with me. I'll deal with it, and I can understand if you don't want to be involved with me and the pack after…"

Bella put down the plate and walked to the kitchen table, sitting down and gesturing for him to do the same. Once he did, she spoke. "Embry, I appreciate you being there for me, and I know that this is hard on you too, in many different ways…."

Embry closed his eyes, already sensing her dismissal coming. "If this can't be reversed, though, you would never be able to have children with me, and I would always have that connection with Jacob that you talked about. It seems unfair to you, and I understand if you don't want me anymore."

Embry's eyes snapped open and he looked at her piercingly. "You mean… you still are willing to be with me?"

Bella was quiet for a few minutes and opened her mouth to speak several times before actually deciding on her words. "I won't lie, Embry. I don't think I want to ever see Jacob again. He… you said that first day that he practically raped me. That isn't true; he didn't rape me. He just….stole from me. He stole my dreams without me even knowing it. He took away having a completely satisfied marriage to someone I love."

Embry reached out and took her hand that was resting on the table. "I know. I… I will do anything to keep him away from you. I don't want to be around him either. If you wanted, I could move to Port Angeles so you didn't even have to come to the reservation to see me. If…." Embry paused, scared to say what he was about to but willing if she needed it. "If you want me to, I'll stop phasing. I would stop eventually either way, so that I can age with you, but I'd stop now if you want me to."

Bella looked at him, gauging the honesty in his eyes. "No, I don't want you to do that. I can still come to the reservation to see you, and it seems like the pack means a lot to you. You should stay close to them as long as you can. Just… don't expect me to want anything to do with Jacob. As for the other stuff, I will try to be accepting of it. I just want you to realize what you are getting into. What if I can't have kids with you? What if, even though I hate him, I'm still drawn to Jacob?"

Embry squeezed her hand and shook his head. "I don't care. Honestly. If you want kids, but we can't have them, we can adopt. Maybe even something like surrogacy could work. I'm not sure. We can figure it out when we get there. And, Jacob… I won't lie and say I would want you to be attracted to him. Bella, if you could love me… if you think you could be happy with me in spite of it…. I would take you in any capacity I can. I will take what you can give, and that's all I will expect of you. I truly believe no one will make me as happy as you do in spite of Jacob."

Bella pulled her hand away and stood up, walking to stand next to where he sat. Then, she leaned down and pressed her lips softly to his. "Then… then I really want to see where this can go."

Embry stood up and pulled her firmly into his arms. "Thank you, Bella."

She pulled back and smiled at him. "Thank you."

* * *

They spent the rest of the morning and the afternoon simply being together. They learned they shared a love of The Princess Bride, and together were able to speak the entire movie, word for word. Embry learned that Bella was really clumsy when she tripped for the third time over her own feet. He caught her for the third time and joked that he could help her childproof the house so that she didn't hit her head on sharp things.

Bella learned that Embry couldn't really cook to save his life when he managed to burn his thirteenth piece of French toast while she was in the bathroom. She rushed out in her towel to the sound of the smoke alarm and Embry trying to wave the smoke out of the newly opened kitchen window.

"What's going on?!" She looked at the plate on the table to see the stack of black toast and back to him in shock.

"The toast keeps burning! I dipped it in the batter you made and put it on over medium heat, but it keeps sticking and burning!"

"Maybe you need to grease the pan a little bit more," she said, climbing on a chair and hitting the button to make the noise stop.

When she climbed down, Embry was looking at her strangely. "Grease the pan?"

Bella rolled her eyes and when she looked at Embry again, he wasn't looking at her face. She looked down and blushed, realizing she was still in her towel.

"Oh, uhm… I'm going to go finish my shower now," she said, making sure it was secure.

"As you wish," Embry said, softly, looking into her eyes from across the room.

Bella grinned and turned away to walk out before changing her mind. She walked over to him and leaned onto her tip toes, kissing him softly on the lips. "Grease the pan…. Inconceivable! I'll finish it when I'm done." She laughed again and turned, walking out of the room. Embry only snapped out of his trance when he heard the shower come on.

He was scooping the burnt toast into the trash when his cell phone rang. He quickly pulled it out of his jeans and answered.

"Hello?"

"Hey, man. I'm at your place. Where are you?" Jared asked.

"Not there," was Embry's simple reply.

"Obviously. Where are you?"

Embry rolled his eyes. "I'm at Bella's house."

He heard Jared say "Bella's house" and a few voices in the background yelled happily.

"So, it went okay?" Jared asked, curiously.

"As well as can be expected. She is willing to be with me as long as the pack does anything and everything in its power to make it unnecessary for her to have to see Jacob. We will talk about that more later though, okay?"

"Yea, sure. Listen, I was calling to see if you were still up to going dancing this coming Saturday night. Obviously, Jake and Jenny won't be joining us any longer. Me, Sam, you, and the girls in Port Angeles. Does that sound okay? Bella could get to know us and ask the girls all the questions she wants."

"I don't know. I will have to ask Bella," Jake said.

"Ask me what?" Bella asked from behind him, wrapping her arms around his waist.

"Uhm, Jared and Sam want to know if we want to go dancing with them and their imprints this Saturday night."

Bella frowned, "Jacob won't be there, right?"

"No, definitely not."

Bella was quiet for a moment before nodding. "Okay, I guess I can do that. Luke has been wanting more managing hours anyway."

Embry spoke into his phone. "Sounds good. What time?"

"We were thinking of doing dinner first. Eight?"

"Dinner at eight first?" Embry asked. Once Bella nod he confirmed with Jared quickly.

"Sounds great! We look forward to meeting Bella," Jared said and hung up.

* * *

When Bella went to work that night, Embry headed back to the reservation with promises to meet Bella for lunch on Wednesday. Work ran smoothly enough, and when Bella got home she heard the sound of the phone ringing on the inside.

She hurriedly unlocked the door and dashed to the phone, expecting Embry or her dad to be on the phone.

"Hello?" Bella asked, out of breath.

"Bella. Hi, it's Jacob." Bella felt her knees weaken but she made it to the chair before flopping down.

"What do you want, Jacob? Haven't you done enough?" she asked, already feeling her eyes water.

"So you have talked to Embry, then… Listen, I just wanted you to know that… well, even if Jenny is pregnant, I'll still leave her for you. You're who I am supposed to be with," Jacob said, quietly, into the phone.

Bella's heart stopped. "Your… your wife is pregnant?" How was this possible? Why would God want to do something so horrible to her? Take away her options and leave his wide open?

"Oh… well, yes, she is. It doesn't matter though. I will financially support her, but I'm yours if you will have me."

Bella hissed in anger. "Jacob, you listen to me right now. I want absolutely nothing to do with you for as long as I live. The fact that you ruined my chances of ever being satisfied with the man I am supposed to be with doesn't even begin to describe how much I have come to hate you. You are not to call or write. If you come anywhere near me, so help me God, I will make sure you pay. I would recommend you stay with your wife, but I don't believe she deserves such torment. I can tell you one thing though; whether you are with her or not, there is no chance in Hell that I will ever, ever be with you."

Bella hung up the phone and felt the strength of her convictions melting away as the sadness came in. Jenny was pregnant. She felt the phone fall from her hand onto the floor but didn't bother. She managed to curl into a little ball in the chair, and cried longer than she ever thought possible.

When the phone rang again, Bella's throat was raw. She scooted off the chair and onto the floor, picking up the phone. It wasn't Jacob.

"Hello?" she said, hoarse and weak.

"Bella? What's wrong?" Embry asked, worriedly.

"Jacob called," she whispered.

"I'll be there in twenty minutes," he replied. Then, the phone went dead.

* * *

Author's Note: Thank you for all of the fantastic reviews. Every once in a while I get one that makes me feel so good I am absolutely EAGER to write. I truly appreciate all of your encouragement. Also, thank you to a reviewer who pointed out my contractions while writing dialogue. I am used to writing literary analysis papers, and had a slew of professors who _hated_ it. Not to mention I speak rather formally to begin with. It's become second nature not to use them at all, but I hope I fixed it this chapter a bit. Let me know!

As an extra note, I went with some friends to see a double feature- Twilight _and_ New Moon. I fell in love with the pack all over again and came off thinking that the guy who plays Edward is _still_ very creepy (in a bad way) and aging very poorly. I think I might have developed a crush on Paul, though. He's over 18, too, so it's peachy. I'm not a thought-pedophile for thinking it.

BTW, You know how excited you get to see that your favorite story (Hopefully, mine) has been updated? That's how excited I am to get each and every review! And what better day to review than Thanksgiving (Americans). Hell, I don't care what your nationality is. This is my favorite holiday so HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL!


	18. All in the Name of a Loving Family

_**Disclaimer: The Twilight Series and its characters belong to Stephenie Meyer. This is written for entertainment only and definitely not for monetary gain.**_

"_Bella? What's wrong?" Embry asked, worriedly. _

"_Jacob called," she whispered. _

"_I'll be there in twenty minutes," he replied. Then, the phone went dead._

_**Que Sera, Sera's Chapter 18: All in the Name of a Loving Family**_

Embry didn't even bother to put on a shirt or shoes. He simply grabbed his keys and ran out of the house, dropping into his car and punching the gas. He needed to get to Bella.

Then, he drove by Jacob's house. Somehow, his foot slammed on the brake, and he found himself spinning into Jake's yard. He jumped out of the car, feeling some sort of relief that Jenny's car wasn't here. He went to the door and knocked hard.

Jacob swung open the door in confusion. Unfortunately for Jacob, Embry didn't wait to see his reaction. Embry's fist crushed into Jacob's face, and he felt happy vindication at feeling the cartilage crush under the impact. Jacob howled, falling back on his ass and holding his bleeding nose.

Embry stepped forward and kicked Jacob in the chest making his shoulders hit the floor. He put one foot on Jacob's throat, holding him there. "Jacob Black, how the fuck dare you call _my_ imprint and upset her. I don't know what the hell you said to her, but I will rip out your heart if you try it again," Embry spoke with deadly calm. Jacob's hands released his nose and grabbed Embry's leg, trying to push it off.

"You might be bigger. You might be stronger. I, however, am smarter. It is only out of respect for the pack that I don't kill you right here. You are lucky I am smart enough to understand _laws _and _orders _or-" he said.

"Embry! What are you doing?!" a voice shouted.

Jenny stood in the doorway with groceries in her arms. When she saw the look on Embry's face, she dropped both bags.

Embry removed his foot and turned away from Jacob, walking toward Jenny at the door.

"Jenny, you deserve so much better than him."

"Embry, just-"

"Jenny, my imprint Bella deserves much better than him, too. Me." Jenny's eyes widened in shock. Embry put a hand on her shoulder as he stepped by. She flinched, and he felt the first pang of guilt.

"I'm sorry for scaring you, Jenny... and the blood on the floor." Embry then walked out of the house and heard Jenny shut the door behind him.

He was almost to his car when the door burst open and Jacob came running out. He looked murderous.

"Who do you think you are?!" He yelled, lunging at him. Just as his fist was about to hit Embry though, he was projected backward through the air by some unknown force, hitting the ground.

Embry looked at Jacob on the ground in shock. What happened? Jacob looked just as surprised. Embry glared. "You want to know who I am? I am Bella's imprint and boyfriend. Don't ever call her again."

Then, Embry climbed into his car and pulled out of the driveway, not looking back at his former "brother".

* * *

By the time he got to Bella's house, he was twenty minutes later than he had said he would be. On the way, he had forced himself to slow down. He shouldn't have said what he did to Jenny. She didn't deserve that. Bella was his first priority though, and he would do whatever necessary to keep her happy and healthy.

He walked up to the door and rang the doorbell. Bella answered the door a moment later still crying with a used tissue in her hand. He said nothing and pulled her into his arms. When she didn't move away after a few minutes, he lifted her up, grabbing her around the waist while her legs wrapped around him. He carried her upstairs and into the open doorway that seemed to be her bedroom. Slowly, he put her down on the bed and climbed on next to her, pulling her into his chest.

"What's wrong, Bella?" he asked, softly, wiping away some tears from her face.

"You're late," she said with a sob.

"I know, sweetie… I am so sorry; I got held up," he said, feeling even worse for his detour.

Bella shook her head. "I-it's okay. Jacob just… he upset me."

"What did he say?" He hadn't exactly given Jacob the chance to tell him what he did or did not say.

"J-Jenny is pregnant. You knew! Why didn't you tell me?"

"I wanted to give you news slowly. Give you time to get used to one thing before I attacked you with the next. Honestly, at the time, I wasn't really thinking of Jenny."

Bella nodded. "It isn't fair!" She cried out loud again and tucked her head under his chin.

Embry squeezed her more tightly to him. "I know, honey, I know."

"Why should… why does he get the chance to just live his life as if nothing has changed? Why does he get to have a baby with whoever he wants?"

Embry frowned and felt tears come to his own eyes. Jacob was hurting both of them. "There is still hope, love. We might be able to eventually."

Bella shook her head. "I wasn't even planning on children a few days ago…. Now, to know I might not be able to have them…. Embry, I want kids!"

Embry nodded, squeezing her harder to him. "I know. We will do everything we can to let you, too. Right now, though, we should just live our life as if this isn't a problem. Let's just try to take our time to get to know each other before we worry too much, okay?"

Bella nodded into his chest as he slowly started rubbing circles into her back.

A few minutes later, her crying stopped. She reached her hand up to her face to wipe the tears away before pulling up so he could see her. He smiled gently at her and raised a hand to brush her cheek. "Everything will be okay, Bella. I'll do everything I can to make everything okay; I promise."

Bella tried to smile at him and raised her hand up cover his on her cheek. "Thank you," she whispered.

Embry nodded, and Bella did smile a little this time. Then, she leaned forward and pressed her lips softly to his. Embry responded gently to her, not pushing it. She didn't pull away, though, and a second later, he tongue came out to trace his lip.

He gently opened his mouth to let her deepen the kiss, and when she did, he moaned aloud. His hands tightened on her, going down to squeeze her waist as she kissed him harder. They started to kiss passionately, and she pulled herself on top of him as her hands tangled in his hair.

A minute later, her hands traced down and moved between their bodies. She started to unbutton his shorts, and he pulled away from the kiss. She looked at him in confusion.

He sighed. "God, Bella… you have no idea how much I would love to do this with you," he whispered, eyes smoldering as he looked into hers.

She smiled gently. "So do it, then," she said back.

Embry groaned and used the last bit of will power he had to lift her off of him and to his side before sitting up. "Bella, you are upset. This isn't a good time. When we do this, I want it to be something we both want to do well before we actually do it. I want the first time I make love to you to bring back no regrets whatsoever."

"Embry…"

"Please, Bella. I'll do anything but that right now. I would _love_ to make love to you, but this just isn't right. We haven't been together except or a few days!"

Bella looked at him in silence before nodding. "Will you just hold me then?" she quietly asked.

Embry smiled at her and lay back down, pulling her into his arms again. She put her head down softly on his bare chest and, after a moment, put her thigh across his stomach. Embry smiled, putting one hand on her arm and the other on her thigh before kissing the top of her head. She nuzzled against him and sighed in contentment.

Embry squeezed her leg a little and smiled softly. "Geez, Bella… I think I just fell in love with you," he whispered. He felt her smile against his chest and a kiss in the same spot.

* * *

"It's about time," she whispered back. Moments later, they were both asleep.

At the reservation, things weren't going so smoothly. Jenny stood pacing in the kitchen while Jacob sat at the table with a napkin to his nose and his eyes shut.

"Jenny, I promise… I am _not_ doing this to hurt you. She's just the one I'm supposed to be with."

Jenny turned away from him and wiped at her face. "A few weeks ago, you were perfectly happy. You never even mentioned this girl to me, and after just seeing her a few times you think she is worth you giving up everything for!"

Jacob shook his head and walked toward her, touching her arm. She jerked away and spun on him. "How could you, Jacob?! We're having a _baby_ together!"

"Jenny, I will still provide for you and the baby. I'll still be a father!" he said, knowing how horrible it sounded.

"No, Jacob! No! I will not have our son or daughter raised to think that this is what a man does! I will not have them looking for someone that acts like this or to be like this when they get to be adults! You are _not_ a man, Jacob Black! I am your _wife, _and you think it is acceptable for you to desert your family for someone who doesn't even want you?!"

"Jenny, I am not deserting you."

She slapped him across the face. "What do you call it then, Jacob?" She started to cry harder and walked to the table, dropping into one of the chairs.

"You need to go somewhere else, Jake. I don't care where, but I can't have you near me right now."

Jacob stood silent for a few minutes. Finally, he nodded. "Fine. I'll pack some things, and then I will be at my dad's house. Okay?"

Jenny didn't respond, so Jacob turned and left the room.

Ten minutes later, he walked into his father's house. He went into the living room to see Billy sitting in front of the TV watching Sports Center. "Hey, Dad. Jenny and I had a fight. Mind if I stay here?"

Billy didn't even turn his head. "I figured I would be seeing you sometime soon."

"Oh?" Jacob said, hoping word hadn't gotten to his father already.

"I have already met with Sam and the council. You are not anyone's favorite person right now. How could you, Jacob? I know I raised you better than that. Your mother…"

"Don't bring Mom into this, Dad," Jacob warned.

Billy finally looked up at him. "And to Embry… your brother?"

"Oh? A pack mate's false beliefs should take precedence over my imprint?"

Billy flipped off the TV, and groaned. "Sit down, Jake. We need to talk."

Jacob glared. "I'm a little old to be lectured by you, Dad. I know that I was a little… impulsive, but that doesn't make what I did wrong."

"This isn't to lecture you, yet. This is to talk to you about things we should have talked about long ago."

Jacob still had the feeling it was going to be a lecture, but he sat down on the couch anyway, looking at his father.

"I have made many mistakes in my life, Jake. I will acknowledge that. You should know, though, that your mother knew every single one before she died. She was… well, she wasn't my imprint, obviously. Despite that, though, she was my everything. Sarah was intoxicating from the moment I met her."

"I know, Dad," Jake said quietly. Billy rarely spoke about Sarah, and bringing it up in such a way seemed as if it was important.

"I had doubt once. Your sisters were tiny, and your mom was so devoted to them. I didn't have that… I hadn't wanted children. I was so stressed out with the responsibility that… your mom decided to take the girls and visit her parents for a week one summer to give me some space. She had been gone for two days when the reservation had a big barbecue. I got really drunk that night and woke up the next morning in," Billy hesitated before releasing a breath and continuing, "Mariah Call's bed. We both agreed it was a mistake, and I left immediately."

Jacob's eyes were wide, and he found himself unable to ask the questions he wanted to. Or to yell. Yelling would be nice. "When I got home, your mother told me that she was pregnant again. I… I told her the truth, about Mariah. She was so angry, but… she didn't leave me. It took a long time to get anywhere near normal. Then… you were born. The doctors handed you to me, Jacob, and… I fell in love. With you, your mother, and your sisters. Holding you was when I realized that I actually did want to be a dad and a husband first for the rest of my life."

"And Ms. Call?" Jacob said hollowly.

"Your mom spoke to her the week after our affair. Mariah left to stay at the Makah reservation with some cousins. She returned with Embry."

"Is he…" Jacob started. Billy raised his hand to silence him.

"I think so. Honestly, I do. Mariah never told me. She respected your mother too much. She raised Embry alone, as you know, and he has no idea who his father is. It is… well, I don't see how it could be anyone different. He's just a month younger than you."

Jacob stood up, glaring. "So he's my _brother, _and you never did a damn thing for him? What is this supposed to turn into now?"

"You are right. I was never a father to Embry. Your mother asked me to stay away from Mariah, and Mariah never asked me to be involved. I… I wasn't about to risk my newfound happiness with my family. As for what it means… well, I am not sure. I know one thing though… even though my sins are not your fault in any way, shape, or form – Jacob, he was raised without a father or siblings, and that is my fault. It's not fair of you to assume you should just automatically be able to take the happiness he has found himself. Besides, son, you have a baby on the way. Even if you don't feel it now, I know you… when that child is born you will hate yourself if you turn Jenny away for something that might never happen. Talk to Embry. See how he feels about Bella."

"And I should take advice from you?!" Jacob said harshly. Billy looked down in his lap.

"I'm sorry, son, but I will never regret that I did what needed to be done in order to keep your mother and you kids as happy as you could be. You needed both of us, and we needed all of you."

Jacob shook his head, "I can't stay here." Then, he walked out of the house and towards Sam's.

**Author's Note**: Hey everyone! So, here's the deal. I am leaving today to go on a Christmas vacation that is spanning 5 states in under a month. I will be _extremely_ busy with family and don't know when I will have the chance to update. I am putting the finishing touches on 19, but something about it just isn't right. I don't know if I will get around to fixing it before the New Year or not. Either way, sorry for the upcoming lack of updates. I'll get around to it first week or so in January at the latest. And to all of you guys celebrating- Happy Hannukah or Christmas (or Kwanzaa or Winter Solstice, I guess). And have a great New Year! BTW: Please review. It makes me happy.


	19. Dinner for Six

_**Disclaimer: The Twilight Series and its characters belong to Stephenie Meyer. This is written for entertainment only and definitely not for monetary gain.**_

"_I'm sorry, son, but I will never regret that I did what needed to be done in order to keep your mother and you kids as happy as you could be. You needed both of us, and we needed all of you."_

_Jacob shook his head, "I can't stay here." _

_**Que Sera, Sera's Chapter 19: Dinner for Six**_

The week passed with relative ease for Bella and Embry. Bella had to work all week at the restaurant and was only had free time very late at night and for a few hours in the afternoon. Embry was working on an wooden arch for a wedding in Forks that was only a month away.

They didn't get to see each other at all, but made phone calls every night to check in and speak. Bella, despite all of the sadness surrounding imprinting, was finding herself to be very, very happy with Embry. She was quickly coming to view him as the best person she knew. She was in love. Not to the point that she was ready to get married, but she definitely knew she would want it in the future.

Jacob hadn't called again. Whether it be because of her words or Embry's fight with him, she didn't know. She was trying not to dwell on it. When it did come to her mind though, she remembered when Embry told her about the fight and imagined Embry standing over Jacob. While she wasn't proud of it, she did find a form of satisfaction that she would have thought beneath her at any other time.

Embry found himself head over heels. Especially when he walked into his apartment after a long day of work to see that Bella had been there and left plenty of food on the table for he and the guys as a pick-me-up. She had only left a note with it that said "thought you might be hungry. XOXO, Bella".

He was quickly coming to see her as an absolutely indispensable part of his life and greatly looking forward to the future. He had sent flowers to her work the day after she left the food, and when she called to thank him that night, they talked for three hours about things of no consequence at all.

By Saturday night, they were both extremely eager to see each other. Bella had left work early after the lunch rush and treated herself to some time at the spa. When the doorbell rang at half past seven, Bella was just pulling on her dress. She ran down the stairs and swung open the door with a grin on her face. She grabbed a laughing Embry and pulled him into a tight hug. Embry hugged her back before pulling away a moment later. "Are you ready?"

Bella groaned and allowed the nervousness to show on her face. "As ready as I will ever be, I think. I really want them to like me…"

Embry smiled gently at her. "They will love you, Bella. I was actually asking if you were finished getting ready, though."

Bella blushed and nodded, pulling him in and shutting the door. "Yes, except for my shoes. Oh, can you zip up my dress?" She turned around, and Embry made quick work of the zipper before pulling her back into his chest and wrapping his arms around her waist.

"Have I told you how beautiful you are?" he whispered, dropping a kiss on the top of her shoulder

"Not today," she said back, turning around in his arm and putting her hands on his chest with a playful look.

Embry smiled at her and leaned his head down, pressing his lips softly to hers. "You are beautiful, Bella," he whispered against them, making her blush.

When they pulled apart, she sighed softly. "So are you."

Embry smiled and stepped away from her, motioning to her shoes by the door. "Your shoes, Miss Swan?"

Bella nodded and went to the pair of black heels by the door, putting them on while he leaned against the archway leading into the living room.

"So, what are their names again?" she asked as she righted herself. He walked to her and grabbed her coat off of the hook, helping her put it on.

"Sam and his wife, Emily. She is the one with the scars I told you about, but try not to mention them. Despite not being upset with Sam about it, she is self conscious, and Sam still feels horrible about it. Sam will probably be leaning right next to her, they are always inadvertently touching, I think. Jared and his imprint, Kim. She is also his fiancée, and she is ecstatic whenever anyone comments on her ring so that she can talk about the wedding. The pack members don't really do that, so I am sure she will love to have another woman to squeal with."

Bella smiled at him as he opened the door and then the passenger side car door for her. He ran around the other side and got in, leaning across the center console to kiss her. "You sure they will like me?"

Embry nodded, "There isn't a doubt in my mind. You are very easy to like."

As they walked into the restaurant, Bella was feeling her nerves start to get the best of her. She drastically slowed her walking once they stepped through the doors, and Embry smiled lightly as he put his hand on the small of her back, leading her forward. "They'll love you, Bella…"

Bella took a deep breath and nodded once as a hostess approached them. "Table for two?"

Embry shook his head, "Actually, we are meeting up with some friends. Uley, table for six?"

The hostess smiled and nodded, "Of course," before leading them across the restaurant and to a circular booth in the back. Bella felt herself blush as the four people seated there looked up at them. They were all gorgeous… as was Embry. Bella felt incredibly plain.

The men stood as Embry pulled out Bella's chair for her. "Hello," she greeted softly.

The two women smiled brightly at her and one spoke. "Hello, Bella. We met briefly at the restaurant. I am Emily, Sam's wife." Bella looked at the woman and noticed the scars easily now. They were horrible, and she had to squash the pity she felt rising within herself. She nodded in return and reached a hand out, shaking Emily's. "Yes, that's right. It's nice to see you again, Emily."

One of the men cleared his throat, "Yes, Sam and I were there, too. Kim was at work though."

Bella looked at the other woman and smiled at her, "It's nice to meet you, Kim," she said, sticking out a hand. Kim shook it, and Bella looked down at her hands and smiled.

"I suppose congratulations are in order. What a beautiful ring!" Bella said.

Kim's eyes lit up and she nodded, "Thank you! It's great to meet you, too. Hopefully you will come to the wedding? It is going to be two month from- "

Embry leaned in to Bella's side and spoke softly into her ear, "That's my girl."

Bella smiled and started to talk with Emily and Kim while the guys listened in and talked on their own.

Bella quickly grew at ease with the group. Emily and Kim both seemed very good natured and down to earth, and the men seemed just as much in love with them as Embry was with her. Sam asked how the restaurant was going, and Bella found out that his aunt cooked at a restaurant in L.A. that he used to work at during the summers when he was growing up.

The both talked animatedly about how hectic but fun the life behind the scenes at a restaurant could be, and really hit it off. Emily and Kim were talking amongst themselves while Jared and Embry listened in on Bella's conversation with Sam, occasionally throwing in a comment or two.

Dinner passed quickly for the group, and Bella felt like she had known them for years. By the time they walked out at ten-thirty, Bella was exhausted. Jared noticed her try to stifle a yawn and squeezed Kim's hand discreetly. "Guys, I know it is last minute, but I am beat. I had very long work week."

Kim, catching on, looked at Embry with a smile. "Would it bother you guys if we decided not to go dancing? I think I could use a night in as well."

Embry looked at Bella and nodded, "That sound like a good idea. Sam, Emily?"

Emily nodded, leaning into Sam, "You took the words out of my mouth. Bella, are you free for dinner sometime with week? Maybe you and Embry could have dinner at our place with the pack?"

Bella got a look of panic on her face and Emily quickly shook her head, "No, no, just us. I usually have the single guys over once a week for dinner. Embry came until he met you. I think that the rest of them would really like to get to know you."

Bella nodded slowly, "If you are sure I won't be intruding…"

"What night is best for you," Emily asked with a smile.

Author's Note: Thank you for all of the reviews and Christmas wishes. I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and New Years. And that you continue to enjoy and review Que Sera, Sera. Thanks so much for your encouragement. I have some really great readers!


	20. Ceremonial Hooplah

_**Disclaimer: The Twilight Series and its characters belong to Stephenie Meyer. This is written for entertainment only and definitely not for monetary gain.**_

_Emily nodded, leaning into Sam, "You took the words out of my mouth. Bella, are you free for dinner sometime this week? Maybe you and Embry could have dinner at our place with the pack?"_

_Bella got a look of panic on her face and Emily quickly shook her head, "No, no, just us. I usually have the single guys over once a week for dinner. Embry came until he met you. I think that the rest of them would really like to get to know you."_

_Bella nodded slowly, "If you are sure I won't be intruding…"_

"_What night is best for you," Emily asked with a smile._

**Que Sera, Sera's Chapter 20: Ceremonial Hoop-lah**

Two months later, Bella woke up to the sound of her cell phone ringing. She groaned, not opening her eyes as she rolled onto her side and grabbed it off of the nightstand.

"Who thinks this is a good time to call me?" she asked the caller, trying to control the acid dripping from every word.

"It's your friendly neighborhood werewolf," Embry's voice said. She groaned again, hearing the chipper tones of her boyfriend.

"Seriously, I could've slept in," Bella opened her eyes to see the sun shining in. Sun? This early? In Washington? "Embry… what time is it?"

"Ahh, apparently I was right. Your alarm clock _does _have a short in the wiring. It's half past nine.. I was calling to tell you I'd be leaving in ten minutes to come get you."

Bella shot up in bed, screeching. "WHAT?!"

"Yeah, so… I'll leave you to get ready and be there soon. I'll bring some coffee. Love you!" Then, he hung up. Bella thought about reprimanding him for not allowing her to say goodbye but thought twice of it. She didn't have _time_ for shouting at him today.

She jumped out of bed and was in the shower within five minutes.

Today was Jared and Kim's wedding. It started at noon, and her restaurant was catering the food. Not that the food would be affected. Her employees were taking care of that. She was just to oversee it when she got there. Still, she had planned to get there early enough to have everything under control _before _the ceremony.

She spent ten minutes in the shower and quickly dried her hair before running downstairs in a towel. "Is that what you are wearing?" Embry asked with a laugh.

Bella screamed and jumped in the air. She spun around to see Embry sitting on the couch in her living room, watching her with a very amused smile on his face. "I need my dress! How many times have I told you not to scare me like that, Em!"

Embry hopped up and walked to her, pulling her into his arms. "But, baby… it is so sexy to hear your sweet little heart beat all quickly just for me…."

Bella smacked him lightly on the arm, to which he pouted, before leaning up and placing a kiss on his lips. "Coffee?"

"On the kitchen counter…. Two creams, three sugars."

Bella smiled. "Great. Can you toast a bagel for me? I have to grab my dress out of the laundry room and get dressed."

"I'd rather help with that?"

Bella didn't bother turning around to roll her eyes and just walked into her laundry room, grabbed the dress, and ran straight passed him up to her room again. She hurriedly pulled on the dress before rushing downstairs again.

Embry was waiting at the foot of the stairs with her coffee and bagel in hand. She grabbed them both and turned back up the stairs, motioning with her bagel-filled hand for him to come on up.

He followed her into the bathroom and put the toilet lid down before sitting on it. Bella quickly ate her bagel, and Embry laughed at her lack of manners while doing so.

She walked over to him, and he pulled her into a hug, resting his head against her stomach. "Okay, calm down, sweetie. We aren't that late."

"Okay… okay…"

"Breathe. I'll tell you what I did yesterday." Bella nodded, and Embry began his tale of the day before which included breaking a dining room chair he had finished by dropping it down his stairs. When he heard her heart and breathing slow down, he released her and nudged her toward the sink. She went without speaking as he continued, telling her about how he was going to have to make a new chair to replace it.

While he spoke, Bella put on her makeup and fixed her hair. When she finished putting in her last pearl earring, she turned around. "How late are we?"

"Only ten minutes. We are fine. I called on the way here and told Luke to start the easy stuff without you." Bella smiled and nodded, walking into his arms and hugging him tightly.

"Thanks, Embry." Embry just smiled back and kissed her lightly on the forehead before grabbing her hand and walking with her downstairs.

* * *

Bella slipped into the doors of the church with seconds to spare. She practically ran down the aisle to the row Embry was waving at her from. She sat down as the music started and leaned into Embry when he put an arm around her.

"Have you seen him?" she asked softly, turning to look into his eyes.

For the past two months, Sam had made sure to keep Jacob and Embry apart as much as possible. They had seen each other twice and both times had almost ended in another fight. Sam had made them both swear they would not do anything to ruin the wedding and both were to be on their absolute best behavior.

"Yes. He is sitting a few rows up. Jenny is one of the bridesmaids… there she comes now." Bella's head turned toward the aisle and watched as a beautiful woman walked down it with a soft smile on her face. Bella has seen her before, at the restaurant, but hadn't exactly hung around to remember what she really looked like. Silky, black hair was put up in an elegant bun. A few curled tendrils hung down, framing a heart-shaped face with perfect, dark brown eyes and full pink lips. Bella felt very plain all of the sudden and squirmed in her seat. "Geez, she can't even hold a candle to you, can she? No wonder he thinks you should be his…"

Bella blushed and relaxed a bit with a smile. Just as Jenny passed her, she looked down at her. For a moment, she glared at Bella before shaking her head and smiling apologetically. She turned her eyes back forward and walked on. Emily followed with a peaceful smile, looking beautiful. Once getting to know Emily, Bella found herself barely noticing the dreadful scars.

Right behind Emily, with a look of anxiety, a six year old walked down the aisle with a basket of flower petals. She seemed to be scared of wasting all of the flowers and only pulled one out at a time, tossing the selected petal on the floor every foot or so. She barely looked up but seemed to sway a little as she walked, obviously enjoying the full skirt she wore. "That's Claire, Quil's imprint," Embry whispered.

Bella looked up at Quil, who was sitting in the aisle just in front of theirs. He watched Claire with a look of total adoration on his face. Claire looked up at him just in time and smiled beautifully for him, looking much more confident. "I know he is really excited for you to meet her," Embry whispered. Bella nodded, smiling softy. Although she had met the pack and the imprints several times, Claire was an exception. Bella usually couldn't see them until well after Claire's parents and Quil had put her to bed.

The wedding march started and everyone rose to their feet, watching as a calm and happy Kim walked down the aisle on the arm of a very tall man that must have been her father. Bella looked at Jared who had all eyes on Kim with a look of forced seriousness on his face. Bella could tell he was barely holding it together though. His hands shook as Kim's father passed her off to him and smiled with glee as they turned to face the preacher.

Bella's eyes moved to Jenny again as the ceremony continued. She noticed that while one hand had a grip on the bouquet she was holding, the other softly rested on her stomach. When Bella looked closely, she could see the slightest of bumps there. She frowned, feeling a swell of anger toward Jacob. She glared at the back of his head from where he sat in the second row. As if feeling it, he turned around to look at Bella and Embry. Bella continued to glare but forced herself to move her gaze away from him. A moment later, he turned back around, looking upset.

A few moments later, the ceremony was over. Kim and Jared walked down the aisle together and exited the building. They would be meeting everyone at the reception at First Beach in an hour. The bridal party followed, but Paul stopped by on his way out. "Embry, can you stay behind? Jared wants some photos of the pack."

Embry nodded, "Is that okay?" he asked, looking at Bella. Bella smiled, "Should we just wait here?"

Bella sat down while everyone filed out, following the lead of the rest of the pack. After the other guests had left, the wedding party came back in. Bella watched as an ecstatic Quil, swung a giggling Claire up into the air. She looked just to their left to see Jenny watching the same scene, a hand rubbing her stomach again.

Bella felt tears come to her eyes and looked away. Embry caught the sudden movement and put a finger under her chin, directing her gaze onto him. "What's wrong?"

"We will talk about it later. It isn't a big deal right now. Okay?" Embry frowned but nodded, kissing her quickly on the cheek.

The photographer came in with Kim and Jared, talking with them about what pictures they wanted. Bella sat for the next twenty minutes, watching the pack be photographed in all sorts of ways. She managed to shoot a hand motion to Embry that she would be right back and slipped out.

After using the rest room, she walked down the hall back toward the sanctuary. The door opened in front of her as Embry came through. He took her hand and smiled at her. "They are done with me. How about we slip into this room and talk while we wait for them to finish? Quil and Claire need a ride." Bella nodded, and both of them slipped into one of the Sunday School classrooms.

"So, what's wrong?" Embry asked, leading Bella to sit in a chair. Bella frowned, shaking her head.

"Come on, baby," Embry coaxed, sitting next to her. "You know you won't feel better about it until you get whatever it is off your chest. It'll make me stop worrying, too…."

Bella looked up at him and finally nodded. "Well… I saw Jenny…" She trailed off.

"I'd be more worried if you didn't see her," Embry said, trying to make light of the statement.

Bella rolled her eyes. "She seems… happy. Glowing? I… I just can't help but wonder if we will ever get that chance…"

It was Embry's turn to frown this time. He pulled Bella to him, wrapping her up in a hug. "We'll do everything in our power to have that opportunity."

Bella nodded, "I know. Now, just… knowing I might not be able to… it makes me want to… want to try so that I know."

Embry pulled away, "Bella, we haven't even had sex yet."

Bella nodded again, putting her head against his chest. She was doing her best not to cry. She thought of Jacob. Was he looking forward to being a father? Jenny sure did seem happy with it. She really did glow. Why was it that Jacob could so easily have that? Perhaps even take it away from her and Embry? She wanted kids, damn it!"

Bella looked up. "What would you say if I said that I wanted to change that? I want to take the next step with you. I… I want to know how you feel, but I am not worried about getting pregnant. If I do… well, I think I would be ecstatic... Even if you don't want kids, we…" She was cut off with Embry crushing his lips to hers.

"We will just see what happens, love. I'll be happy with whatever we have, as long as I have you."

They kissed again but jerked apart when they heard something hit the door. The rushed to it and opened it up, seeing Jacob walking down the hall away from them.

"Jacob!" Embry called, shaking lightly.

Jacob spun around, his fists clenched. "I… I was just wanting to talk with you about something, Embry. It can wait. Everyone is outside, waiting to go to the reception."

Embry didn't stop shaking, so Bella squeezed his arm. "Remember your promise to Sam," she whispered.

Embry nodded and forced himself to calm down. "We will be right there," he said quietly to Jacob. Jacob nodded and ran out of the building. By the time Bella and Embry got outside, everyone had left except for Quil and Claire.

Quil walked up to them with Claire on his shoulders. "Are you guys okay? Ready to go?"

"Yes, we are fine."

Bella smiled up at Claire and stretched a hand up for Claire to shake. "Hi, I'm Bella."

Claire grinned back, showing off two missing front teeth. "Hi… I'm Claire. You're really pretty," she said, shaking Bella's hand.

Quil and Embry smiled at each other as Bella responded. "So are you! Let's go eat some wedding cake! It's the best cake there is!" Claire giggled and nodded as they all walked toward Embry's car.

* * *

Author's Note: Thanks for all of your wonderful reviews. I know I skipped forward a bit, and it will skip forward again in the future, too. I think this was the right move though. Please continue to review, it makes my day. Hope you enjoyed this chapter!


	21. Love in the Background

_**Disclaimer: The Twilight Series and its characters belong to Stephenie Meyer. This is written for entertainment only and definitely not for monetary gain.**_

_Bella looked up. "What would you say if I said that I wanted to change that? I want to take the next step with you. I… I want to know how you feel, but I am not worried about getting pregnant. If I do… well, I think I would be ecstatic... Even if you don't want kids, we…" She was cut off with Embry crushing his lips to hers. _

"_We will just see what happens, love. I'll be happy with whatever we have, as long as I have you."_

_They kissed again but jerked apart when they heard something hit the door. The rushed to it and opened it up, seeing Jacob walking down the hall away from them. _

"_Jacob!" Embry called, shaking lightly. _

_Jacob spun around, his fists clenched. "I… I was just wanting to talk with you about something, Embry. It can wait. Everyone is outside, waiting to go to the reception."_

_**Que Sera, Sera's Chapter 21: Love in the Background**_

Jacob's life had been… different since his confrontation with Billy. Jenny had allowed him to come back to the house after his argument with his father and subsequent refusal of housing from Sam. Sam had said that Jacob couldn't stay with him because Jake had places he _needed_ to be.

Following the unspoken order, he had gone home with his figurative tail between his legs. Jenny had greeted him at the door with tears still in her eyes. She let him in before walking up the stairs toward their bedroom. He had followed her, but she had stopped him outside of the guestroom. She had simply pointed in there before turning back around to walk into their shared bedroom. Jacob had followed her gesture to see the bed made up with his feather pillow lying on top of it. No words were needed.

The following month had been mostly silent in their house. Outside of passing on phone messages or telling each other when they could expect the other home, they didn't really talk to each other. That had changed one night though. It was Thursday, and they were sitting at their kitchen table eating a silent dinner.

"Jacob?" Jenny had softly asked.

His name being spoken had seemed to break some sort of expected silence that had covered their home. He had looked up with a little bit of shock showing in his eyes.

"My four month appointment is tomorrow at half past one. Do you want to go?"

Jacob's neck craned back in surprise. She hadn't asked him to go for her third one. In fact, they hadn't spoken of the baby since their fight. "Yes," he whispered. Jenny seemed to smile lightly as she looked down at her plate before nodding.

The doctor's appointment had held another surprise. Jenny was getting an ultrasound when the doctor looked up at them. "Well, usually we don't do this for another month. I am 95 percent positive, though. Do you want to know the sex of your baby?"

Jacob moved his head forward, eagerly, trying to see the screen a little more clearly. Then, he looked at Jenny hopefully. She smiled again, ever so softly. "Please…"

The doctor smiled and nodded, "Congratulations. In five months you will take home a baby boy." He handed Jenny a napkin to wipe the gel off of her stomach with and stood. "He seems to be perfectly healthy and growing fast."

Jacob gasped, his hands moving quickly to gently touch Jenny's still small stomach. "A boy?" he asked, his voice cracking. The doctor nodded, "I wouldn't bet my career on it, but maybe my car."

Jacob moved his gaze from his wife's stomach to her eyes. "Thank you," he whispered.

He watched as a tear ran down his wife's cheek as she nodded.

The month preceding the wedding was still strained… but better. He had moved back into his room with Jenny the night after the doctor's appointment. During the following weeks, Jacob found himself to be growing ecstatic about the idea of having a child. Jenny, well… that wasn't exactly the same. He was still convinced that he was in love with Bella, but… couldn't he be in love with Jenny, too? Maybe not to the same extent, but…still…

The Thursday before the wedding, they had their fifth month ultrasound. The doctor assured them that he was even surer their baby was a boy. After the appointment ended, Jacob drove Jenny straight to a home-improvement store where they picked out the colors for their son's nursery. He started painting that night, pushing Jenny out when she tried to help.

* * *

Jenny had woken up the morning of the wedding to see Jacob wasn't in bed. She had walked down the hall and peered into the nursery, seeing if Jacob was still at it. He wasn't. Instead, he was lying on the floor of their perfectly painted guestroom-turned-nursery. She had smiled at the sight and, for the first time since she had heard about Jacob's issues concerning Bella Swan, felt truly happy with her pregnancy.

Jacob felt incredibly nervous as he walked into the church that morning with his wife on his arm. She had separated from him to go into the room where Kim was getting ready. He had quickly gone into the room that Jared was stressing out in with Sam and Paul.

"Hey," he greeted.

Paul and Sam nodded at him in acknowledgement while Jared threw back a shot of tequila. "What if she changes her mind and leaves?!" Paul smacked him upside the head.

"You know that she won't do that, dumbass. Pull it together!"

Sam stood from his spot next to them and walked over to Jacob. "How are you and Jenny doing?"

Jacob looked at his feet. "Better, I think. We found out we are going to be having a boy. I finished painting the nursery sometime this morning."

Sam nodded in approval, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"Embry and Bella?"

Jacob shuffled with discomfort at the questioning, his eyes still on his shoes. "I… I want to have a talk with Embry. I am not sure what I think about that whole situation, but… I want things to be okay eventually."

Sam grinned this time. "Good job, and congratulations on the boy."

The rest of the pack came in at that moment, laughing. Quil stood at the front of the group and looked at the tequila bottle that Jared was cradling.

"I think we all need a celebratory drink before the ceremony." Seth handed him a shoe box which he quickly opened, passing out shot glasses to everyone.

Seth took the bottle from Jared and dumped it into the trash. "Dude, don't drink tequila on your wedding day! It turns you into an even bigger dick!" He then pulled a bottle out of the box and poured a little into each glass.

"My mom's first cousin sent this to me from good ol' Iowa. Moonshine. Appropriate for a pack of werewolves, huh?" Everyone laughed but Seth waved them off again. "So, I would like to propose a toast as the youngest and most likely to be terminally single of the lot of you…. Jared, stand if you would."

Jared nodded and stood, looking apprehensive.

"Jared, this is for Kim. Here's to the girl you love the best. You've loved her naked, and you've loved her dressed. You've loved her standing, and you've loved her lying. If she had wings, you'd love her flying. And when she's dead and long forgotten… You'll dig her up and love her rotten." The guys exploded in laughter, with the exception of Jared who looked at Seth with disgust. Seth rolled his eyes. "Fine… to Kim, the only woman we would want you to ever be with. She's a gem…"

Jared nodded and tipped the drink back while the rest of the guys raised their glasses as well, draining them together. From opposite sides of the circle of men, Jacob looked at Embry. He tried to signal to him. They needed to talk. Jacob wanted to tell him about Billy. Embry deserved to know. Embry ignored his look though.

When the wedding began, Jacob was unsure if Bella had even made it. He hadn't seen her come in, and Embry hadn't mentioned her around them all. The doors at the back opened and he turned his head to see his wife walking down the aisle. She looked beautiful. Her eyes were on his, and he smiled at her. She smiled back before looking around. He watched her face. Suddenly, he saw her glare for a moment. He followed her gaze to find it directed at Bella who was looking at his wife with what seemed to be discomfort. His thoughts were cut off when the wedding march started and everyone stood to see Kim enter.

He looked toward Jared after glancing at Kim and remembered how happy he was on his wedding day. Jenny had been absolutely beautiful. The ceremony started, but Jacob wasn't really paying attention. His eyes were on Jenny. She stood at the front, one hand absentmindedly on her stomach. Was it possible that she was more beautiful today than on their wedding day? The idea of it seemed impossible, but… It just might be so. She glowed with the baby inside of her… their son. _His_ son.

He felt as if he was being watched suddenly and turned around to see Bella glaring at him. He looked at her in surprise at the anger her expression showed and then forced herself to look away.

He wasn't sure what was going on between them. Since his talk with his father and the recent developments with Jenny, he didn't really know what was going on anymore. He still believed he was in love with Bella. But… maybe he was still in love with his wife. Was that possible if he was imprinted? And Embry… he really needed to talk to Embry.

He was now sure, positive, that he wanted to truly be in his son's life. And the idea of Jenny being around for it didn't seem anywhere near as bad as it did three months ago. If he was going to try it out with his wife, how was it fair of him to hold his pack mate… his _brother..._away from something that made him happy? He turned away from Bella, upset with himself. He would talk to Embry after the wedding. The first opportunity he got. Embry deserved to know.

The wedding ended, and he stayed back as instructed. He watched as Embry left Bella sitting in the pews to go stand with the rest of the pack. For a moment, his feet almost led him to her, but he stopped himself. He would talk to _Embry_ after the wedding. Then, he would decide what was next. He forced himself to focus on the matter at hand, an endless supply of photographs that would probably only be really looked at ten times in the next ten years. Outside of when they first came in, he had never seen his wedding pictures. Other than the three hanging in his house that Jenny had picked out to put up. All of them together with no one else. Still, he forced himself to pay attention.

When the pack that was not in the wedding party was released, he saw Embry walking out the back doors. He quickly told everyone he'd drive himself and Jenny before following his brother out. The hallway was empty once he made it through the doors, but he heard voices coming from one of the room. Even though he knew it was wrong, he stopped outside to listen.

"…_seems… happy. Glowing? I… I just can't help but wonder if we will ever get that chance…"_ Jacob leaned closer. Were they talking about Jenny?

He heard some shuffling before Embry's deep voice responded, _"We'll do everything in our power to have that opportunity."_

He heard Bella sigh, and sniffle. _"I know. Now, just… knowing I might not be able to… it makes me want to… want to try so that I know." _Bella still was unsure if they could have kids or not? And she was wanting them already?!

"_Bella, we haven't even had sex yet,"_ was Embry's somewhat shocked response. Jacob was shocked, too. Embry and Bella hadn't had sex?!

All was quiet for a few moments. Embry seemed to have talked her out of it. But then, she spoke again, shattering his thought with the determination in her voice.

"_What would you say if I said that I wanted to change that? I want to take the next step with you. I… I want to know how you feel, but I am not worried about getting pregnant. If I do… well, I think I would be ecstatic... Even if you don't want kids, we…"_ Nothing more was spoken, but Jacob heard small noises through the door. Finally, Embry spoke.

"_We will just see what happens, love. I'll be happy with whatever we have, as long as I have you."_

Jacob thumped heavily onto the wall next to the door. He heard movement and hurriedly stood straight, walking quickly down the hallway. He clenched his fists and turned when he heard his name called.

"I… I just wanted to talk with you about something, Embry. It can wait. Everyone is outside, waiting to go to the reception." Damn, he hated how weak his voice sounded. Today was clearly _not_ the day to talk to Embry. Embry looked like he was restraining himself at the very minute.

They were going to have sex together... they were going to try to have_ babies_ together. Jacob tried his best to contain his hurt, but not with much success. Embry's growled response to him got him moving. He never ran to the rabbit with so much speed in his life.

Jenny was waiting in the rabbit and didn't speak when he got in and pealed out of the parking lot. They drove in silence for a few moments before he took a small turn down a farming road. He put the car in park and turned to his wife.

"Jenny… I know I haven't been all that great to you since… well… since she moved here. I'm not going to lie. I don't know where my head is right now. I promise, though, that I'm trying to do right by you. I'm trying to forget about her. I swear it."

Jenny looked up at him and nodded shortly. Jacob reached out, taking the hands she had clasped in her lap. "I swear it," he whispered.

She nodded and truly smiled for the first time in a _very_ long time, and Jacob felt butterflies in his stomach at the sight. He always did love making her smile.

"It's my turn, Jacob…" she said quietly, in even tones. "If I wasn't pregnant… I probably would have left you. I hope you understand how much I want this to work out for us….for our son… our family together. I do hate her… even if I know she didn't do anything wrong. You have to swear to me though… don't you leave me unless she comes to you and says she wants you. Don't you dare leave me and your son to be by yourself… to mope and whine saying you never got the chance to have a family with someone who loves you with all of themselves. I might not have imprinted on you, Jacob Black, and you might not have imprinted on me. However, that doesn't make what we have less than. I _do_ love you with all of myself. Unconditionally. And so will our son. We worked at our relationship… worked at it enough to become comfortable and so happy with each other we wanted to bring him into the world. We were _happy_ before Bella showed up, and I want us to work to be happy for far after she's gone." At this, Jenny turned her hands in his, and placed his larges palms on her baby bump.

"For the vast majority of the population… we choose who we love. I chose you a long time ago, and I am still choosing you today. _We_ need you."

Jacob looked up from her stomach to her eyes and nodded with tears in his eyes. "I swear it. I will do my best to always choose you." With that final promise, Jenny leaned in and kissed her husband softly on the mouth for the first time since the news of Embry and Bella broke.

* * *

Author's note: So, this chapter kind of spiraled. It was not all exactly to plan, but I love it. What I have been wanting all of my readers to see in my Jacob is that a skewed belief and a wrong doing do not necessarily make a person unworthy of another or another chance. He's Jacob… he's _trying_ to do the right thing, he's just having trouble. _No more Jacob hating._ If Jenny can try to forgive him, so can you.

In an unrelated to drama note: Thanks for all of your wonderful reviews. Please continue to send them. They make me _so_ excited to write more.


	22. The Counterpart

_**Disclaimer: The Twilight Series and its characters belong to Stephenie Meyer. This is written for entertainment only and definitely not for monetary gain.**_

_We worked at our relationship… worked at it enough to become comfortable and so happy with each other we wanted to bring him into the world. We were happy before Bella showed up, and I want us to work to be happy for far after she's gone." At this, Jenny turned her hands in his, and placed his larges palms on her baby bump. _

"_For the vast majority of the population… we choose who we love. I chose you a long time ago, and I am still choosing you today. We need you."_

_Jacob looked up from her stomach to her eyes and nodded with tears in his eyes. "I swear it. I will do my best to always choose you." With that final promise, Jenny leaned in and kissed her husband softly on the mouth for the first time since the news of Embry and Bella broke._

_**Que Sera, Sera's Chapter 22: The Counterpart**_

The rest of Jared and Kim's wedding day ran smoothly. Jacob and Jenny had went to the reception and had a great time. They didn't speak to Embry or Bella, but Jacob planned to talk with him that night as everyone was leaving. He didn't feel comfortable keeping it from him any longer. Plus, it would be good to have some sort of answer to why he was behaving so irrationally.

It seemed to make sense, his loving Bella. He now knew he shared half of his DNA with Embry. Logically, if Bella was the best genetic match for his brother, she would be a better one for him as well. Still, he berated himself for how he had acted and resolved to fix it. If he could.

As everyone started to leave that evening, Jacob became nervous. He knew Embry wouldn't just accept the information and his apology. On top of that, if he was honest with himself, he wouldn't accept it as well as he believed Embry would, if the tables were turned.

He had just offered to go get Jenny some punch when she shook her head and nudged him.

"It looks like they are about to leave. You had better go do this now if you are wanting to talk to him tonight."

Jacob nodded and stood, surprised when Jenny rose with him, taking his hand.

"I want to introduce myself to Bella again. I'll talk to her while you speak with Embry," she said softly. He looked at her warily, but nodded again, walking with her across the room. They came up to Embry and Bella as they were saying their goodnights to Sam and Emily.

Jacob cleared his throat, causing Embry to turn around as Sam stared over his shoulder and nodded.

"Yes?" Embry asked. Bella turned as well from her conversation with Emily, but she couldn't bring herself to look Jacob or Jenny in the eyes.

"Embry… do you mind if we talk? It is important."

Embry looked at Bella and then at Jenny before back to Bella. Bella smiled and nodded, squeezing his hand.

"We will go outside," Embry said. He leaned down and kissed Bella on the cheek before leading Jacob out .

Bella looked back to where Sam and Emily had been standing to see they had left and were across the room. She turned to look back at Jenny.

Jenny smiled at her, even if it was a little forced. "Hi, Bella. I'm Jenny," she said, quietly, reaching out a hand.

"Hello," Bella replied, shaking it cautiously. Jenny had not seemed very friendly earlier. "Uhm… congratulations on the baby."

Jenny nodded, looking down at her stomach for a moment before back up at Bella. "Thank you. Do you mind… can we talk?"

Bella swallowed but nodded, and the two walked together to a table, sitting down across from each other.

Jenny folded her hands on the table and looked down at them before up at Bella. "I… I was rude today. During the ceremony? I want to apologize for that. I know that none of this is your fault."

Bella frowned, silent, and tried to imagine why Jenny would have looked at her so angrily. Then, she had to admit, she understood. A woman's husband had offered to leave her, while pregnant, to be with another woman. Admittedly, Bella had no interest in Jacob anymore, but… she could understand Jenny being angry, threatened, and taking it out on her.

"I… I think I understand. I want to assure you, though, I don't want Jacob. I am not trying to ruin your marriage."

Jenny looked ashamed, nodding. "I know that. It's just… Jake and I were so happy. Then, the next thing I know, he is saying he's leaving me for someone else. I know it is his fault and that you never asked him to leave, but it still hurt. I took it out on you, and I am sorry for that. I understand if you hate me," she whispered.

Bella shook her head. "I don't hate you, and I forgive you for earlier. I really do wish you as much happiness as possible with the person you love. I don't know if we will ever be great friends; I am not sure if I will ever want to speak with Jacob again. He, well, he quite possibly hurt me more than he has hurt you. I know that seems crazy, but… anyway… I don't want you to feel like you have to avoid me, and I don't want you to feel threatened by me being around."

"I don't really know all that is going on outside of just Jacob and I, but… well, we talked. We're going to try to make it work. He is trying to make some sort of peace with Embry right now. Despite all that's happened, I do want us be friends some day. You are right, though, I don't know if it is possible right now."

Bella nodded and the two stood at the same time. "Good luck with your pregnancy and with Jacob," she said, sticking her hand out again.

Jenny shook it, "And you with Embry. I hope you find everything you want in him." They smiled kindly to eachother and then parted ways, Bella going to get punch as Jenny walked outside of the tent and onto the sand.

* * *

Embry walked outside with Jacob and led him to the tree line. Once he reached it, he spun, and calmly yet forcefully spoke. "What do you want?"

Jacob looked at his feet, trying to imagine how this was going to play out. Blank.

"I wanted to tell you a few things," he replied. Embry twitched a hand with a "go on" motion and waited.

"Well, Embry, first… Jenny and I have decided to make things work between us. I thought you would like to know that."

"Giving up now that you have successfully eavesdropped on my private conversation with Bella?," Embry snarled, shaking minutely.

Jacob forced himself to stay calm. "Partly, yes. I realize how serious the two of you are, and I am ready to admit that you imprinted on her. There was something else I was wanting to tell you though."

"Besides the _obvious_? That you imprinted on her, too?" Embry said sarcastically.

Once again, Jacob forced himself to stay calm. There were more important things than fighting with Embry tonight. "No. I think that part of me, of my wolf side, recognized her as a better genetic match for me, though."

"Better than me? Well, if that were so, I wouldn't have imprinted on her, would I have?" Embry continued, glaring while he tried to keep from phasing.

"No. I am not a better match for her. She is a better match for _me_ than anyone I have met before, including Jenny."

"How does that make any sense?" Embry said, feeling as if he was losing his ability to stay cool.

Jacob frowned. "It will be easier if we phase so I can show you," he said, quietly. "I… I just want to warn you, though, it will make you angry."

Embry looked at him, trying to gauge if he was trying to bait him into something. Finally, he nodded. Together, they stripped off their clothes; the time for embarrassment was years in their past. They phased, and immediately, Embry was assaulted with Jacob's memory of a conversation with Billy Black.

"_Your mom decided to take the girls and visit her parents for a week one summer to give me some space. She had been gone for two days when the reservation had a big barbecue. I got really drunk that night and woke up the next morning in," Billy hesitated before releasing a breath and continuing, "Mariah Call's bed. We both agreed it was a mistake, and I left immediately."_

Embry looked at Jacob in surprise, and felt as if he knew what was coming next. Was the biggest question he had ever had about to be answered?

"_And Ms. Call?" Jacob said hollowly. _

"_Your mom spoke to her the week after our affair. Mariah left to stay at the Makah reservation with some cousins. She returned with Embry."_

"_Is he…" Jacob started. Billy raised his hand to silence him._

"_I think so. Honestly, I do. Mariah never told me. She respected your mother too much. She raised Embry alone, as you know, and he has no idea who his father is. It is… well, I don't see how it could be anyone different. He's just a month younger than you."_

Embry shook his head in confusion, staring at who he now knew to be his brother.

"Why… why didn't he ever tell me?" Embry asked, his voice breaking.

Jacob looked at his paws. "He told me that my mom asked him to stay away from yours, and he did. He said he didn't want to risk his happiness with his family?"

"AND WHAT ABOUT _MY_ HAPPINESS?"Embry roared. Jacob stepped back, and Embry growled before sitting down, his front paws shaking with anger. "What do you think this means when it comes to Bella?" he said, forcing his voice to be quiet.

"I… I think it proves that we _are_ half brothers. We share DNA, so… Bella must be half of a genetic match for me. It caused the feelings…" Embry growled, and Jacob backtracked, speaking quickly.

"I am _not_ saying it excuses my behavior. I…I did wrong. I am just saying that that might be the reason behind it. Behind me thinking that at least."

Embry was silent and finally nodded before phasing back. Jacob quickly followed suit, and they both put their suits back on. "I need to think about this, Jake. I'll talk to you later. Goodbye." Embry moved past Jacob and left him in the woods. He wanted to leave. He was done with the pack and reservation _crap_ for the night. He just wanted to get Bella and go home.

He walked back to the tent and passed Jenny without speaking. Once inside, he quickly found Bella, drinking some punch as she sat at a table with Quil and Claire. "Bella… I need to get out of here. Are you ready?" Bella and Quil looked up at him with concern while Claire continued to eat her cake.

"Sure. Are you okay?"

Embry shook his head. "No. I don't want to talk about it right now, though. Can we get out of here?"

Bella nodded and stood. Cautiously, she took Embry's vibrating hand, waving goodbye to Quil as they headed out. On the way out of the tent, they passed Jacob and Jenny. Bella glared at Jacob, sure that it was his fault.

For once, Embry did not drive. He simply handed the keys to Bella and walked to his side of the car, getting in. "Can I stay at your place tonight? I want to get off of the fucking reservation for a few days," he snapped, immediately feeling bad for sounding so angry.

Bella simply nodded and turned on the car, starting the drive. Finally, she did the only thing that Embry really wanted at the moment, and reached out, taking her hand in his as she started the drive back to Port Angeles.

* * *

Author's Note:Hey guys! I know this is a short chapter, but it works better to divide it up here. The next one will be big, promise.... Again, thanks to all of my fantastic reviewers. Every review makes me smile with glee. Imagine how happy you are to see that I have updated it and multiply it by 10! Thanks, and please keep on with the feed back. Take care and enjoy all of this beautiful winter weather!


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